A Time of Secrecy
by empathicallychosen
Summary: When the order discovers Harry is abused, Tom develops a new plan to destroy Harry using his family. Will the Marauders escape or will they be used as pawns to kill the child they love.
1. the pitfalls of hatred

Disclaimer. I'm only putting it in here once so everyone better pay attention. I do not now nor will I ever own anything to do with the Harry Potter books. The only reason I'm here right now is because of the remarkable improvement of my own writing since I've been doing this.

Author's note. This is a rewrite of my very popular story Troubled Times. This story is completely separate from my Eternus Liberi series though I confess it does share three basic parallels that you find in many other stories on the site. 1. Abuse by Vernon and Petunia 2. Harry, Hermione and Ron are very closely bonded because that's the way friendships are in my own stories. 3. Harry, Hermione and Ron are all very powerful. Those are the stories I like thus the stories I write. okay now that were all clear on the breakdown here. I'm going to stop talking

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Chapter One

The Pitfalls of Hatred

Written by empathically chosen

"The evils of the body are, murder, theft, and adultery; of the tongue, lying, slander, abuse, and idle talk; of the mind, covetousness, hatred, and error." -- Buddha

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Harry Potter was a boy with many secrets, indeed more secrets than a 15-year-old boy ought to have. Harry had harmless secrets, such as the fact that he, Harry Potter, was a wizard and that he attended a school where he could hone his magical abilities. These were the kinds of secrets he kept from the non-magical world. But most of his secrets, the secrets that Harry was most ashamed of, were dangerous or harmful. These secrets were the ones that he kept from the Wizarding world at large. Only three other people in the world knew these secrets: his two best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and the headmaster at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore was diligent about keeping Harry's secrets. Harry trusted him immensely. But there was one secret, Harry's most closely guarded secret, he could not even tell Dumbledore. This was the secret Harry, Ron and Hermione had gone to great lengths to hide from the wise and incredibly perceptive headmaster. The secret Harry was most ashamed of, was the secret of what really happened behind the closed doors of number Four Privet Drive. The truth of the matter was that for as long as Harry could remember, he had been beaten and abused by his aunt and uncle. Harry's uncle, Vernon Dursley, often beat him because he was an alcoholic who was blinded by ignorance and an extreme hatred of anything outside his view of normalcy, which caused him to try and beat the abnormality out of his nephew. Harry's Aunt Petunia had a separate reason entirely. Aunt Petunia had a grudge against Harry's deceased mother, which she had transferred onto Harry. Petunia had always been jealous of her sister Lily, and hated that her younger sister often received all of the praise from their parents when they were children. This was the reason that Petunia Dursley thoroughly enjoyed coming after Harry with whatever was within reach whenever she felt punishment was justified, and even occasionally for no reason at all.

Harry could not bear it if anyone ever found out what was going on inside these four walls. He could only imagine what people would say if they found out that Harry Potter, the infamous hero of the wizarding world who once defeated the most evil dark wizard of all time, spent his summers being beaten within an inch of his life by a pair of Muggles. Harry constantly had nightmares that the whole world would find out about his secret. In his dreams, Uncle Vernon was beating Harry as usual when who should walk up behind both of them but a certain escaped prisoner. Harry calls out for help only to have Sirius push Harry almost exactly as Uncle Vernon might have done. In the nightmare Harry could see the face of his beloved godfather Sirius Black, all too clearly. His features were hardened, and he would be staring at Harry with an absolutely revolted look on his face.

"James would have never let this happen to him. You're weak, absolutely pathetic, and you disgust me!" dream Sirius told him each night.

Harry woke up in tears to find his whole body was shaking. _James would never have let this happen to him_. There was no doubt in Harry's mind that this was exactly what Sirius would say if he ever found out the truth of what Petunia and Vernon were doing to his godson. Harry knew that the only reason Sirius even put up with Harry in the first place was that he was a constant reminder of his deceased best friend. Harry couldn't blame him. Harry knew that he was only good for two things: defending the world from Lord Voldemort, and serving as a reminder of the great James Potter. That was why he only people whoever bothered thinking he was worth getting to know on his own merits and not just because he was The-Boy-who-lived were Hermione and Ron.

Most of the time it didn't bother Harry that his godfather didn't even want to get to know his own godchild. After all, how could Sirius love someone who couldn't even defend himself against a pair of Muggles? Harry didn't mind playing second fiddle to James' memory. He would rather have been second best in Sirius' eyes than to not be in Sirius' eyes at all. But the words in Harry's reoccurring nightmare cut into him like a knife. They kept repeating in his head over and over again; _James would have never have let this happen to him. _It was like someone put an enormous Dementor in Harry's room and it was sucking out his will to be recognized for who he really was. The words held the last of Harry's self-confidence in an ever-tightening hold until there was nothing left.

"No," Harry finally agreed aloud. "This wouldn't have happened to dad."

James was perfect. That was all Harry had ever heard about his father, how perfect James had been. With the exception the things that Harry's potions teacher and James's former rival Severus Snape said about the man. There was no way that Harry's saint of a father would be curled up in his bed, bloody and bruised, too weak to move. James would never have allowed himself to be locked in a room starving to death, while Petunia, Vernon and Dudley were off on a lavish vacation thousands of miles away.

But that was, in fact, the situation in which his imperfect son Harry Potter found himself. Harry had been locked in his bedroom for at least three straight days. It could have been more; to be honest Harry had lost count a long time ago. He kept passing out from lack of food, and Harry had no way of leaving his room. Even if his broken leg could carry him to the kitchen, Uncle Vernon had been clever enough to place dozens of very expensive locks on the other side of Harry's door and with no wand and a ban on underage magic Harry was more or less helpless to save his own life.

"What a humiliating way to die," Harry told Hedwig. "I just hope the Dursleys come back to dispose of my body before Dumbledore sends someone to get me. I can't let them find out about this. Sirius would be so ashamed of me."

Hedwig gave a sympathetic hoot in response, and Harry drifted off to sleep where another set of nightmares awaited him. Little did Harry know fate was well on its way to exposing Harry's most closely guarded secret. Harry woke up with a start when without warning Hedwig let out a loud screech, and tried so vigorously to get out of her cage that it toppled off the ravaged old desk that the Dursleys had been gracious enough to allow him to use. Privately Harry thought that graciousness had nothing to do with it. If Harry didn't have a writing desk it would be very difficult for uncle Vernon to force Harry to write convincing letters to his friends and Sirius telling them how fabulous life was at the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon didn't want a supposedly deranged mass murderer knocking on their front door demanding to see Harry. What would the neighbors say?

"What's the matter with you?" Harry asked as he struggled to make his way over to her, ignoring the intense bout of pain that consumed him with each step he took.

Harry bent down and picked up the cage with a loud groan. Even the minimal weight of the owl and her cage was almost too much for Harry to handle with his diminished strength. By the time Harry placed the cage back onto the rickety old desk he realized what had agitated Hedwig. There were footsteps and voices in the house, voices that didn't belong to any of the Dursleys. Harry strained his ears trying to listen. If his aunt and uncle ever found out what kind of conversation was currently going on in their otherwise perfectly normal home Aunt Petunia would've keeled over in shock.

Now ordinarily Harry was a relatively kind person even to his dreadful relatives but after everything they subjected him to this summer Harry had to admit the image would've been quite amusing. Indeed this summer were some of the most vicious attacks Harry ever received. He suspected he had the Weasley twins to thank for that. Last year Fred and George played a trick on Harry's cousin Dudley involving a trick sweet that made Dudley's tongue grow to be about four feet long.

"Bill, Tonks, for Merlin's sake will the two of you stop snogging long enough for us to retrieve the boy and get out of here," growled a deep slow voice Harry did not recognize.

Harry wasn't sure yet of what was going on, but he knew that the people who had arrived had to be wizards, a lot of them. Judging by the number of footsteps, Harry guessed that the number was somewhere around ten. Ten wizards who were either going to kill him or expose his precious secret and make his life even more of a living nightmare than it already was.

Harry's worst fears were confirmed when he heard the voice of Alastor Moody, "Well, where is the boy? He must have realized there are wizards in the house by now!"

Dumbledore had sent a group of wizards to fetch him.

"He's probably asleep Moody, and I don't want to hear one word about a lack of vigilance when I bring him back down here," said the warning voice of Remus Lupin.

"Voldemort isn't going to baby the boy, why should I?" retorted Mad-eye.

"I don't baby him. I just understand the meaning of compassion," came Remus's reply in a steely voice that was rather unlike him. "Besides, there's a fine line between vigilance and paranoia, which is something you've clearly forgotten."

Harry's heart sank to the floor. Under ordinary circumstances Harry would have been more than happy to hear the voice of his favorite teacher but not while he was in his current condition. Having Remus see him like this was just as bad, if not worse, than having Sirius find him this way. Remus was the best Defense against the Dark Arts teacher he had ever had. Remus was so proud of the way Harry was able to ward off certain dark creatures. Of course Harry was bound to lose that respect the moment Remus realized that yes, Harry was more than capable of causing almost one hundred Dementors to back down but he couldn't even keep his uncle from pummeling his face into a bloody pulp.

Harry looked down at his blood-soaked T-shirt and swore. If he wanted to fool Remus into thinking the Dursleys were harmless, he had to act quickly. Ignoring his injuries Harry dived across the room, and pulled out a roll of parchment that turned out to be his astronomy homework, along with a small satchel of lavender powder. The lavender powder was especially developed by Harry, Ron and Hermione in their second year to hide the injuries the Dursleys had given him and give him enough strength to last until Hermione and Ron could help heal him. Harry looked down into the pouch and noticed that there wasn't much left. Hopefully it would be enough to fool his clever professor and the other people he brought with him. After covering himself in the last of the powder Harry threw himself back onto his bed and unrolled the parchment to make it look like he had been absorbed in his homework as Remus' footsteps stopped outside the bedroom door.

Harry heard a gasp of sincere surprise, and a series of clicking noises as the locks were magically opened. Harry turned his head to see Remus completely stunned with shock to see the state in which Harry was living for the past several months. His eyes lingered on all of Dudley's junk that filled most of the room so that there was hardly room to move around, then traveled over to the lumpy bed where Harry was, and then up to the barred window. All of the sudden, Remus' nose wrinkled in disgust and his eyes flashed murderously. Harry cursed inwardly; the powder apparently did not erase the smell of dried blood from the room. At least not enough to hide the odor from the vigilant werewolf. But then again why would it? The three friends had developed the Glamour powder a year before they had met Remus, at a time when they had known very little about werewolves. As Harry racked his brains for a convincing lie, he made a mental note to revise the powder as soon as possible.

"Why is there blood all over this house and why in the name of Merlin is it strongest in this room? What in the world is going on here?" Remus demanded.

"This is not my room, technically. I just sleep here. Dudley enjoys hitting people and then he dumps his stuff in here, where I sometimes trip and smash my head on things. As for the bars and the locks it's not that bad, they just didn't want me roaming around the house while they were on holiday. I might break something you know." Harry said before Remus had a chance to speak again.

"I see, and just how long were you trapped here like this?" Remus asked sounding quite skeptical.

"Only a few days," Harry shrugged.

"_Days? _Without food," Remus repeated.

" Of course not! I have an entire floorboard full of food," Harry lied, standing up and walking across the room before Remus had a chance to say anything else. "Are you coming?"

Remus followed reluctantly. It was clear that he had wanted to investigate the room further, but Harry could not allow that to happen. Downstairs on the landing, Harry was greeted by over a half-dozen faces that were foreign to him. Once Remus regained his faculties he introduced each of them to Harry. One, Dedalus Diggle, Harry remembered having met in the Leaky Cauldron several years previous. He was then introduced to Hestia Jones, Elphias Doge, Emmeline Vance, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Nymphadora Tonks, who was BiIl's vivacious girlfriend who demanded Harry referred her only as Tonks and quite a few others as well.

"Enough niceties. I'd like to get a move on before the Death Eaters realize we've come for the boy," Moody snarled.

Wherever they were going, it was apparent that the so-called 'advance guard' thought the best way to get there was by flying. Normally, Harry wouldn't have minded, but in his current condition flying was extremely difficult and it was taking all the strength Harry's powder had given him just to stay on the broom. The longer they flew, the harder it was for him to hold on, until Harry couldn't hold on any more. He felt his grip slowly slipping away no matter how hard he tried to hang on. Much to his relief, however, just as Harry's fingers were about to completely let go of his broom, Remus was signaling for him to land.

They had arrived not a moment too soon. Harry stumbled off his broom and right into Remus. Harry closed his eyes in horror. He really needed Ron and Hermione before it was too late. When Harry opened his eyes, all he could see were Remus's bright amber eyes staring at him in deep concern. Harry looked away, and he was only half paying attention as Remus promptly seized Harry by the arm and led him into a house with a battered black front door adorned with a silver serpent-shaped doorknocker. Harry barely had time to register that this house was decorated with far too many snakelike objects than Harry was comfortable with (the last thing he wanted was to start talking in parseltongue in front of Remus,) before he was knocked to the floor by Tonks. Harry yelled out in pain as Tonks' weight fell on him.

Thankfully no one noticed because when the bodies had hit the floor with a loud crash, Harry had not been the only one screaming. Quite unexpectedly, the room was filled with a horrible, earsplitting, bloodcurdling screech. Horrified, Harry looked up just as a pair of moth-eaten black velvet curtains sprang apart, revealing a life-size, and extraordinarily realistic, portrait of a drooling woman with dark soulless eyes that looked like they were going to pop out of her head. The strange woman appeared out of her mind to Harry. Of course, it didn't help that she was bellowing at them as loudly as she could.

"FILTH! SCUM! BYPRODUCTS OF DIRT AND VILENESS! MUTANTS! HALF-BREEDS! FREAKS! BE GONE FROM THIS PLACE! HOW DARE YOU BEFOUL THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS?!"

From out of nowhere, Mrs. Weasley rushed into the hall glaring at Tonks before darting into action stunning an array of portraits that were now adding to the noise the woman was making as she ranted. Remus dived forward and tried to close the curtains around the old woman, but they refused to shut. He simply wasn't strong enough to overpower the portrait on his own. Harry had never seen any portrait as magically enhanced as this one. Fortunately for Remus, he didn't have to struggle with the portrait for long before a man with long, dark hair charged from the room opposite Harry looking utterly enraged.

"SHUT UP YOU HORRIBLE, UGLY OLD HAG!" he roared over the woman's screeching.

This didn't please the portrait one bit. At the man's words, the portrait of the woman became even more deranged. Her eyes were rolling around in her head so much that even old Mad-eye Moody was alarmed. The portrait was brandishing her yellow gnarled hands at the man before her as though she desired nothing more than to rip him to shreds and she screamed even louder, causing the glass in the chandelier to break and shower them all in pieces of broken glass.

"YOU! BLOOD TRAITOR, ABOMINATION, SHAME OF MY FLESH! YOU ARE NO LONGER MY SON! AWAY WITH YOU, AWAY I SAID! BE GONE FROM THIS PLACE AND NEVER DARKEN MY DOORSTEP AGAIN!"

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP MOTHER!" the man roared again, uttering the last word with complete disdain.

He joined Remus, and with an enormous amount of effort the two of them finally managed to seal the portrait behind the curtains and the noise died away. Panting slightly and sweeping the long, silky black hair from his face Harry's godfather turned to face his godson for the first time. Sirius's eyes met Harry's just as Tonks managed to help him to his feet and his smile faltered slightly.

"Merlin Harry, you look awful!" said Sirius loudly.

Harry froze unable to speak.

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Author's Note: you may be wondering why Hermione and Ron know about the abuse. It's always bothered me when I read abuse stories where Ron and Hermione are oblivious to the things that go on in Little Whinging. I mean Ron Fred and George rescued Harry from a barred room in second year. Of course Ron for one isn't going to believe that everything's peachy crap. As for Fred and George I think that the two of them might have suspicions that they would be infinitely happier not knowing what's going on. Besides in my mind at least Ron wouldn't be above Black mailing the twins to keep them quiet. To preempt questions about why Harry, Hermione and Ron don't say anything let me explain that too. They all know that Professor Dumbledore put Harry for a reason, Thus the professor probably won't do anything to remove Harry from the situation deciding that threats would better suit the despicable Muggles. As will be explained later Vernon reacts most strongly when he thinks it's for the safety of his family and therefore he's most violent when threatened.

Now than to those of you who haven't read them already I encourage you to read the other stories I've written. Awakening Solace was the first followed by Reunion with Darkness but before reading Reunion you might want to take a look at the Princess of the Marauders two chapter story I wrote first. To those of you who are already reading those stories I want to announce the posting of a new one-shot to explain why Molly reacts to Ron the way she does in both Solace and Reunion the story title is Molly's dark day Newbies will want to read this two chapter story in between Solace and Reunion as well. DON'T LEAD TO SHORTER STORIES FIRST EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE FIRST AS FAR AS THE TIMELINE IS CONCERNED. YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THEM UNLESS YOU READ AWAKENING SOLACE BEFOREHAND!

next chapter: you find out another one of Harry's secrets and Sirius becomes suspicious

Now that my shameless plug is over please review any or all stories.


	2. Tangled webs unraveling

Chapter Two

Tangled Webs Unraveling

Written by empathically chosen

The only period I fear of committing a sin is when I am at the best level of performing good deeds, cause in that actual duration the wickedness of immorality creeps in me due to my overconfidence of controlling it." -- author unknown

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Harry froze unable to speak. Sirius was searching him, staring at him as though he could see right past Harry's magical disguise. Harry dismissed it telling himself that while Sirius was in his human form he could not smell the blood and Sirius could keep staring at him all he liked but if the powder was strong enough to resist Dumbledore's prying eyes they could certainly with stand Sirius's scrutiny.

_No, _Harry told himself his secret was _safe. There is no way Sirius will ever fin d out about my summers of torture. Well at least not until Remus tells him about the blood and my room. _But even then the only thing he would have were his own suspicions. Harry could deal with suspicious behavior. Madam Pomfrey was suspicious of Harry's home life ever since second year and as of yet she still didn't have any proof to back up her suspicions.

"Hi Sirius," Harry muttered finally.

"As touching as this little reunion is, professor Dumbledore has asked me to escort Potter to the drawing room where he has been waiting with Potter's friends for over an hour," said a silky voice from behind him.

There was only one person it could be and as Harry turned around to face him an overwhelming dread filled his body. Sure enough their he was Harry's least favorite teacher, Professor Severus Snape. Wasn't it bad enough that Harry had to put up with this man torturing him every day at Hogwarts? Now the horrid professor was invading Harry's summer as well. Snape's lips were curled and he was staring at Remus with utter disdain as though he could not believe he was being forced to be in such close proximity to this man. Harry felt his blood boiling. How dare Snape treat his Moony this way?

"I'm afraid it could not be help Severus," said Remus as politely as ever. "If the headmaster has a problem with it, I'm sure Moody would love to explain why he insisted upon stopping every time he heard a cat behind a rubbish bin."

"C'mon Harry, I'll take you to the drawing room," Sirius said sorely.

"Sorry Black, but Dumbledore specifically told me that I'm to show Potter to the drawing room myself," said Snape who seemed quite pleased to deny Sirius this menial task.

"Why pray tell, am I not allowed to take _my_ godchild to a room in _my_ house," growled Sirius.

"I don't know Black, perhaps the headmaster was worried it would interfere with your cleaning," Snape sneered.

Without warning Sirius charged Snape so enraged that Remus had to dive forward and seize Sirius's shoulders to keep him from tackling the potionsmaster to the ground and wrangling him with his bare hands. Even though Harry knew that Sirius and Professor Snape had always been enemies, Sirius's reaction to the vengeful professor's comment to carry completely by surprise.

On the other hand Snape did not appear to be alarmed at all by the sudden urge for violence in fact he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself and could barely contain his laughter. Even with Remus holding his shoulder Sirius didn't stop trying to strangle the potionsmaster who just kept laughing making Sirius all the more eager to get at his target. Harry stared unsure of what to do. should he try and help Remus restrain his godfather or should he just let the lycanthrope handle it?

"Harry the drawing room is upstairs and it's the third door on the left. Go, just go everything's fine here," Remus commanded.

Reluctantly Harry headed up the rickety old staircase examining his surroundings with grim interest. The more Harry saw of this house the more morbid everything became. The house was at war with Harry attacking his sense of humanity as it engulfed him in darkness as he passed all the disturbing oddities that littered the house. The dwelling almost achieved its goal when Harry past a row of shrunken house elf heads on the wall that went all down the hall.

Why on earth did Sirius live in this house? Surely there were places that better suited the man's personality. Harry tried his best to ignore the ambience of darkness around the house as he struggled to find the room that Remus had indicated. At long last when it seemed that the darkness would surely engulf him and destroy his soul Harry had reached the drawing room. with a sigh of great relief Harry knocked sharply on the door before hurrying inside.

Harry's momentary happiness at finding the right room in a house where all the rooms seemed to be a maze of dark objects did not last long however. The minute Harry placed one foot inside the room he was bombarded by a puff of gray smoke that filled his lungs making it impossible to breathe. Harry fell to his knees which caused a bigger cloud of smoke to free itself from a carpet. He gasped for air but only inhale the rest of the dust. Harry began coughing violently until his lungs felt like they were going to pop from the strain. Thankfully when he was able to take a few deep breaths the coughing subsided and he was able to get back on his feet. Hermione shrieked staring at Harry in horror.

"Harry are you all right," asked Hermione alarmed.

"Yeah, sure I'm fine," but he was far too distracted to elaborate any further.

Unlike Sirius, Hermione and Ron were immune to the powder and were staring at Harry's mangled body instead of his magical disguise. Harry spoke not once taking his eyes off of the Headmaster. Hermione nodded her understanding that they would discuss it later.

Harry turned his attention back to his surroundings. He had just caught sight of the oddities in this room and was once again taken aback. The kinds of things that littered every portion of the shelves on the olive colored walls would have made Lucius Malfoy grow green with envy. Harry's eyes traveled from object to object wondering more and more why Professor Dumbledore chose this place for the secret headquarters Hermione and Ron weren't supposed to tell him existed.

"Interesting headquarters, Professor," said Harry.

Professor Dumbledore looked from Harry to Ron to Hermione neither of whom bothered to look guilty. The headmaster's eyes began to twinkle merrily causing Harry to wonder whether or not Professor Dumbledore was serious when he told Harry's two best friends to keep a secret from him or if he said it to cover his tracks with Mrs. Weasley. The more Harry thought about it the more he assumed it was the latter. Harry, Hermione and Ron shared too much to keep secrets from each other and the headmaster knew that better than anyone. In fact what with all the secrets they were keeping from everyone else, Professor Dumbledore all but demanded they keep no secrets from each other.

"Yes, I quite agree," said the headmaster darkly. "But Sirius's father was obsessive about keeping unwanted people away from his home. Which of course makes this the perfect place for a secret organization. Does it not?"

Harry nodded no longer wondering why Sirius lived here of all places.

"Now then I suppose you're wondering why I wanted to see all of you. Molly and the other order members might not want me to tell you this but I believe the three of you deserve more than anyone else to know the truth. The truth is we're losing the war. I fear the only way for us to win is for the three of you to regain the powers that I removed in your first year. I would also like for the three of you to become honorary members of the order of the Phoenix," the headmaster announced solemnly.

Harry, Hermione and Ron stared at one another. None of them were surprised by Dumbledore's request. When Dumbledore removed the powers from the threesome it was at a time when the headmaster expected Tom Riddle might never regain a body. Especially after Harry, Hermione and Ron were so skillful in warding off his attempts at the Sorcerer Stone. All three of them knew that there was a good chance they would get their powers back by the end of last year when the truth about the events after the third task of the Triwizard Tournament really sunk in for all of them.

Be that as it may Harry, Hermione and Ron didn't want to come back into their powers. They all had very good albeit rather selfish reasons for wanting the powers suppressed in the first place. Hermione's parents were very leery of the things their daughter was capable of, Ron was subject to much teasing by Fred and George because of his unique abilities and Harry well he knew that his powers were the reason his aunt and uncle thought of him as a freak. He'd long ago given up hope of ever pleasing them but because of the abuse he suffered Harry was convinced that these powers were also the reason Remus never bothered to come visit him or even write him a letter until after they were removed.

Even though Harry, Hermione and Ron had their reasons for wanting the powers out of their lives forever they knew full well that they were the ones who were most likely to defeat Vodemort and none of them was prepared to doom the whole entire world both magical and Muggle alike because they wanted to be normal. Harry, Hermione and Ron nodded. Professor Dumbledore looked very pleased at their decision. The ritual to release the powers from their oppression took a full twenty minutes.

As for becoming members of the order Harry, Hermione and Ron agreed to that as well. But they were careful to make it clear that Dumbledore was to handle this announcement by himself. They didn't want to have anything to do with the displeasure that Mrs. Weasley and Professor McGonagall would have no qualms about expressing, the headmaster smiled knowingly before asking one more favor of them. He wanted Harry, Hermione and Ron to create several spells that Voldemort might not be expecting. What those spells were could be left up to the three friends. Creating spells was the only part of their powers that they missed so they agreed to this part without hesitation.

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Sirius always considered Remus Lupin to be a reflective person but something was different about today. Remus didn't even bother to reprimand Sirius for trying to strangle that sadistic moron Snape. Not even to use the old standby claiming that now Snape was probably going to treat Harry worse than usual. Which coincidentally was the only thing Remus could say to make Sirius feel even the slightest bit guilty. Then again perhaps he didn't need to say it today. Snape pretty well hinted Harry would be receiving a month's worth of detentions as soon as he got back to school.

Just the same Sirius wasn't used to Remus ignoring him for this long. Maybe when they were teenagers, but ever since Sirius was sent to Azkaban leaving Remus all alone, neither man was particularly comfortable when there was silence between them. Sirius watched Remus sit in a Dragon Hide armchair staring down at the book in his hands with a vacant expression.

Curiously Sirius went over and plucked the book from Remus's all too loose grip. Remus didn't object. In fact Remus didn't even take notice that Sirius was in front of him. Worried Sirius looked down at the book wondering if it were enchanted with some dark curse. Much to his surprise he found himself looking down at a Muggle psychology book. Sirius wouldn't have thought his pureblood maniac parents even allowed such material into their home.

Sirius knew that Remus was a half blood and as the most studious of the marauders he took great enjoyment reading what his friend might have passed by on the shelf only daring to pick up if there was absolutely nothing else left in the world to do but Sirius couldn't help thinking that the reason he chose this book today had something to do with why Remus was borderline catatonic now. What could have caused this reaction today of all days? The only thing different about today was . . . -- Harry. _Oh Godric. Please don't let it have anything to do with Harry._

"Earth to Moony, earth to Moony," said Sirius waving a hand in front of Remus's face to get his attention. "Snap out of it, you're scaring me."

"Wha -- . . . oh sorry Pads, I was just thinking," Remus replied.

"About what?" _Not Harry . . . not Harry . . . not Harry_.

"Harry."

_Dung bombs Moony. I told you not to tell me it had anything to do with Harry. Can't you read minds anymore, _Sirius thought bitterly. Sirius raised his eyebrows quizzically. Hoping against hope that it wasn't as bad as the knot in his stomach was suggesting. Remus opened his mouth to reply when Ginny walked into the room. Shaking his head Remus pointed upstairs. Sirius was starting to panic.

Whatever Remus needed to talk to him about couldn't be said in front of others. This was just getting worse and worse by the minute. Nodding Sirius followed his old friend upstairs feeling very much like he was in the middle of a death march. Upstairs the two men dived into the nearest room and shut the door, Sirius waited but Remus said nothing choosing instead to pace the length of the room running his hand nervously through his hair.

"Well spit it out! What happened? Did you walk in on him with the girl or something," Sirius inquired playfully.

"No Padfoot, believe it or not all teenage boys aren't as hormonal as you were," Remus said rolling his eyes.

"Well what is it then?"

"Padfoot, I -- I need to tell you something but you have to promise not to fly off the handle or anything," Remus began slowly.

Sirius's heart plummeted fifty feet. No good conversation ever started with the phrase you have to promise not to fly off the handle. Sirius didn't want to have any such conversation where the words you have to promise not to fly off the handle were spoken when a revelation was about to be made about Harry. Why couldn't it ever be girl trouble with that boy? Girl trouble Sirius could've handled in his sleep. Girl trouble was certainly a lot easier to deal with then a maniacal megalomaniac intent upon exacting his revenge.

If something happened to Harry because that deranged, old loon Moody-- well let's just say the bloke wouldn't be wondering if Sirius was going to attack him. But no that couldn't have been the problem because Mooney wouldn't be hesitant to tell him if that was all there was to it. Sirius had been handling attacks on his godchild since the moment the two of them were reunited in his third year.

Wondering what was really the matter Sirius nodded reluctantly waiting for Remus to continue. His old friend looked as old as Dumbledore as he explained how the advance guard arrived at Number Four, Private Drive only to find what appeared to be an abandoned house. As of yet Sirius was hard-pressed to find the problem. From what the man remembered about Lily's nut job older sister the fact that she wasn't in the house when Remus and the rest of the advance guard went to collect Harry was a good thing, wasn't it?

He was about to suggest is much when Remus held up a hand to stop him. Sirius apologized knowing full well that whatever they were talking about at this moment was killing his best friend. Remus continued the tale by explaining how Moody made the werewolf walk around the entire para meter of the house checking for Death Eaters.

Sirius rolled his eyes. Of course there hadn't been any Death Eaters nevertheless, what Remus claimed to have sensed in their stead was much worse. Blood. Loads of it. Sirius is heart stopped dead. He may not have approved of Harry going to stay with Petunia and Vernon nevertheless he still didn't want the poor child to have witnessed something as awful as the death of the entire Dursley family. For surely that was what Remus was getting at.

According to Remus the scent of blood was most prominent inside the house than out of it. Remus explained how his curiosity got the better of him and how he continued to search the inside of the house for signs of a struggle. There were none. Sirius knew that the sound of his breath of relief was probably heard even to little Ginny downstairs but he ignored it turning his attention back to Remus who never skipped a beat in his story.

Remus kept going describing how the scent of blood was mixed with the sense of bleach and other disinfectants along the floor, walls and even the ceiling. Sirius snorted why did Muggles always think they could get rid of blood? A werewolf or Animagus would always find the traces of blood left behind. Of course the rest of the Advance Guard would not have had such keen abilities and Sirius doubt it very much that Remus said anything to risk Mad-Eye getting even more paranoid

"So I went upstairs to find Harry and just in case you were wondering, yes, Dudley is as spoiled as Harry makes him out to be. He had more stuff in his bedroom then you, me and James combined. Anyway I finally tracked down Harry's scent behind a door with at least a dozen locks on it."

Sirius leapt angrily to his feet. Moony told him to shut up and let him finish. But Sirius didn't want to let him finish. all at once everything started clicking, things that Sirius didn't want to click. He didn't want to listen to this anymore. He just wanted to find a Time Turner and never walk into this room with his old friend. All the same he could never pretend that this conversation never happened Harry needed him to stay and listen to the rest of Remus's story.

After that -- after that . . . well Sirius didn't know what to do but you can bet the Animagus wasn't going to take it lying down. Even if Harry wasn't being -- if the Dursleys were only slightly neglectful of their nephew Sirius would be sure that Harry never went back to that awful place. Considering everything the boy went through over the years but most especially during the past few months Harry deserved to be well taken care of. Not treated as though he were a major inconvenience.

"Sirius, are you listening to me? They had him trapped like an animal in a cage. They made him sleep in a room that looked like a dumping ground for all of their little princeling's rubbish. They locked him away from the rest of the house so he couldn't break anything. There were bars on the windows and the blood -- . . . it was strongest in that room. I'm sorry Padfoot, I think they're abusing him."

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I am Both flattered and overwhelmed by the response I gotten to this story. Believe it or not the last chapter received the most reviews I've ever gotten bar none. And now I would like to take a moment to thank an anonymous reviewer for their comment. Thank youl kail I thought having Ron and Hermione know the big secret would separate the story from some of the other ones out there.

Next chapter Sirius confronts Harry, Ron and Hermione.


	3. Confrontations and confession

Authors note sorry I haven't updated this story in a while I've either been too sick or to busy. Anyway want to do one thing before I let you all get reading thats to respond to the review of my good friend paradise who left hers anonymously. I was wondering when you'd get to this story first of all thanks for the wonderful things you say we all feel bad for him and not going to answer your question you just have to wait and find out although I will say that there is quite a magnitude in strength as compared to reunion with darkness

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Chapter Three

Confirmations and Reactions

written by Empathicallychosen

"I'm a believer in that, . . . I am a great believer in found families and I'm not a great believer in blood. Although I love my family, even the ones I grew up with, to me I've always felt that the people who treated you with respect and included you in their lives were your family and the people who were related to you by blood might happen to be those people but that correlation was a lot less strong than society believes it is." - Joss Whedon

Sirius was filled with a blind rage. He let out a roar loud enough to reawaken his mother's deranged portrait. He was going to kill those pitiful excuses for human beings. Sirius didn't care about getting caught or thrown back into Azkaban all he wanted was to get at that fat tub of lard Dursley. Sirius never thought he could be angrier at anyone then he was with Pettigrew the night that Lily and James were murdered and somehow strangely enough the rage he was feeling at this very moment was a hundredfold more powerful than that memory. It was so strong that Sirius lost control of all his other senses. He couldn't hear, the shapes in front of him were distorted and all he could feel was pure unbridled fury.

The second he was doing he realized that for the second time that day Remus was holding him back. Although he still couldn't hear exactly what was being said he could distinctly see Remus's lips moving forming the words; No, think and Harry. At long last some common sense rush back to him and he realized that if he was careless and got caught doing something stupid Harry would have no choice but to return to that wretched place. Sirius's stupid actions already landed Harry in that torment once, he could not allow it to happen again.

Dropping to his knees, Sirius began to sob uncontrollably. Tentatively Remus released Sirius slumping down on the floor next to him before embracing Sirius in a brotherly hug. Sirius felt the tears trickling down Remus's face and knew he wasn't the only one crying. The two of them sat like that for the longest time both suffering from grief and guilt.

Sirius just couldn't understand it. A person doesn't just wake up one morning and decide to take out their frustrations on a child. These things had to have been going on for awhile. Nonetheless if that was true why didn't Harry say something to someone? Sirius always told himself that if the Dursleys were too terrible Harry would write him and Sirius could -- what was it Harry said in that letter to tell him about his scar hurting last year? Oh yeah, turn them into bats. Sirius would have gladly done such a thing if Harry had just confided in him. Didn't Harry trust him? Had Sirius really behaved so irresponsibly over the past few years that Harry felt Sirius needed protecting from himself. That was stupid! Sirius was the adult. It was Sirius's job to protect Harry, not the other way around.

Sirius's next thought was that he ought to have suspected something was amiss the very first time he saw Harry walking down the street with his school trunk in the middle of the night. Happy, well-adjusted children didn't blow up women for no reason and then run away. As a dog spying on Harry from the forbidden Forest Sirius overheard Harry telling a few of his friends he merely lost his temper because the wretched woman insulted Lily and James. With the new revelations Remus discovered, Sirius couldn't help but wonder if there was more to the story than Harry let on. Then there was the time Sirius asked Harry to live with him. They had only known each other a few hours but Harry agreed.

Sirius had been so happy he forgot to be suspicious, but now it was all he could think about. Harry didn't know Sirius that well at the time. Sirius might not have been the deranged mass murderer everyone thought he was. But how was Harry to know that his godfather's intentions were actually pure. Thinking back on it that should have been a big red flag. Just like the way Molly confessed that Harry sent Hedwig in the middle of the night informing them of Dudley's diet. Merlin's pants! No wonder Harry always looked so scrawny. Those monsters didn't feed him! Why hadn't Sirius seen it? How could he have been so blind?

How could they treat Harry so poorly? The boy was just about the most tenderhearted child anyone could hope to meet. Even Snape admitted that Harry's concern for others was paramount to any other self-respecting boy. Granted the vindictive man called it sickening but that was only because Snape's own heart was pathetically weaker in comparison. Harry saved Sirius from a horrible fate and Sirius failed to protect the boy in turn. He understood the reasons he'd been unable to give Harry a proper home like he'd intended to.

By the same token Sirius was fairly certain that there had to be an option he overlooked. This couldn't have been Harry's destiny. Sirius didn't believe in inescapable destiny. Notwithstanding if they did exist the fates couldn't be cruel enough to allow such a gentle child to be beaten and cast aside. Wasn't Karma supposed to reward good behavior? There were so many questions in Sirius's mind that needed answering. Luckily Harry chose just that moment to walk by the room that Sirius and Remus were barricaded in discussing something of great interest to the men in low whispers. The process of whispering was utterly pointless to the two men with incredible canine senses.

"... blood wards. If Harry's cupboard didn't convince Dumbledore things aren"t right in that place, nothing will," Hermione was saying.

"I have half a mind to tell Mum about the rest of those extendable ears. Those two almost got you killed with their stupid prank," Ron said bitterly.

"Why don't we worry about what to do with Fred and George later. Right now we have to adjust the glamour powder so that it will mask this blood from Moony and Padfoot."

"I hate to say this but how are we supposed to do that when we don't know what blood smells like to wolves and dogs in the first place," Ron interjected.

"We better think of something. I'm not losing the closest thing to family I have just because I'm too pathetic to -- . . . "

The conversation died away, leaving both Remus and Sirius completely stunned. On one hand they had the proof that they were definitely dealing with abuse. On the other they also now had knowledge that Ron and Hermione both knew what was going on. Under ordinary circumstances Sirius might have been outraged that both Harry's friends knew about what was going on at the Dursleys and never bothered to say anything to him. Then again it seemed they were trained to believe all of that nonsense about blood wards being the most important thing to keeping Harry safe. Why would they confide in him if they thought Sirius and Remus would just lose their tempers and make several idle threats?

No, Sirius couldn't blame Harry's friends they were just children, fifteen-year-olds who thought they knew everything there was to know about everything they haven't already learned. He would and could blame Harry's predicament on the headmaster however. The nerve of that man to know that Harry was at the very least being neglected and not doing anything to prevent it! What was all this talk of cupboards and what else did they need to know?

Then there were the comments Harry made about why these things needed to remain secret from his godfather. Sirius was absolutely appalled to realize that Harry blamed himself for his troubles. How could he possibly think of himself as weak when Vernon Dursley was approximately four times Harry's size? In spite of the tone of the rest of the revelations Sirius couldn't help being pleased that Harry considered him to be his real family.

Molly called everyone downstairs for dinner and Sirius decided the confrontation could wait until after the meal. Sirius and Remus walked into the kitchen only to find Harry was the only one seated at the massive kitchen table . Probably because Molly was too busy ordering everyone else around to notice Harry wasn't helping as well. Sirius couldn't blame him. His poor godson looked positively dead on his feet. _Good boy, you rest up tonight. I'll send for Poppy after the meeting and we'll have you fixed up in no time._ Unfortunately for Harry, Molly soon realized Harry wasn't pulling his own weight and instructed him to go collect cutlery from a drawer.

Sirius knew Molly had no idea what she was doing to the boy. Nevertheless, he couldn't help glaring at the woman's audacity. Harry groaned as he got to his feet. Sirius winced at the grimace of pain that flashed across his godson's face. He wanted to scream at Harry to sit back down before he hurt himself even more and he couldn't because he didn't want to confront Harry in front of the Weasleys, Tonks and Kingsley.

He watched carefully as Harry walked over to the place Molly indicated conscious of the fact that Harry was limping with each step he took. Unexpectedly Harry got halfway to his destination and collapsed. Sirius was at the boy's side in a matter of seconds. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. Harry was still conscious. Instantly Remus went about checking his vital signs. Harry responded by pushing Remus away with a horrified expression on his face.

"What are you doing?! I'm fine," he protested.

"Harry, Remus and I heard you talking to Hermione and Ron earlier. We know better than that," Sirius replied.

Harry's eyes widened in shock. The boy began muttering furiously to himself. Ron looked about ready to vomit, while Hermione burst into loud, inconsolable tears. Tonks, Kingsley and the remaining Weasley's stared. Taking charge of the situation Sirius announced that Harry, Hermione and Ron would be eating upstairs with himself and Remus. Molly was not too happy but Sirius ignored her. Molly may have viewed herself as Harry's surrogate mother figure but she wasn't. Lily was and she and James both chose him to make decisions in their stead, not Molly. True, she did have control over her son's actions but Sirius had strongly suspected that Harry's best mate wouldn't leave him to talk about the abuse without at least providing some moral support.

As soon as the group left the kitchen Sirius picked up his godson and carried him up the stairs like a small child. They didn't need to aggravate the boy's injuries if they could help it. Harry tensed at the touch looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Instinctively Sirius pushed Harry's head against his chest forcing Harry to nestle deeper into the embrace. Sirius didn't know it yet but the man had unconsciously created a goal to make Harry more comfortable with human affection. Sirius didn't care if he had to keep Harry imprisoned here for the rest of his life to accomplish it. Remus smiled knowingly expressing his desire for the same thing. When they got upstairs Sirius marched everyone inside the room designated just for Harry.

If Molly realized that instead of cleaning the areas of the house she instructed the Azkaban fugitive was really creating a paradise for the Gryffindor seeker, she would have skinned the man alive. As of this moment however, Sirius officially didn't care. It was worth it to see Harry's awestruck face as he stared around at all of the Quidditch posters that Sirius hand selected for Harry. Harry was laid to rest gently beneath the golden silk covers and presented with his steak and kidney pie, twice-baked potato and garden salad before Sirius close the door allowing the group some privacy.

As the door closed Harry's whole body trembled with undeniable terror as if the first thing Harry expected series to do was to shout at him for being so stupid. _Or worse_ . . . Empathetically, Remus poured Harry an ice cold glass of pumpkin juice and helped Harry take several sips before Sirius sat down at the end of Harry's bed stroking the child's hand reassuringly. All of a sudden Harry burst into sobs.

"I'm sorry, Sirius, I'm sorry, I know I disappointed you." Harry murmured. "I should have -- . . . "

"Don't you dare finish that sentence! You didn't do anything wrong," Sirius stated firmly.

"But I -- . . . "'

"Look, Harry, why don't you just tell us what's been going on," Remus suggested. "Why didn't you explain what goes on at your relatives, earlier?"

Harry took a deep shuddering breath and started talking about some of his earliest memories. He explained how he was left outside like a dog forced to perform backbreaking labor and then whipped when he failed the obviously daunting tasks. He explained being made to do the cooking for his family at age six, an age most parents would frown upon even letting their child near the stove.

Harry also explain having his hand burned in hot bacon grease if ever the food was not prepared to Petunia's specifications. He explained how at school Harry spent most of his time trying to figure out how to hide his problems from classmates and staff members. A problem until recently Harry, Ron and Hermione were effectively hiding with the use of a glamour powder the threesome invented. Sirius was appalled that someone could treat his godchild in such a deplorable manner. Before Sirius could fully decide what action to take Molly called up to the two men informing them that it was time for the order meeting to start.

"Okay Harry, you've made a good start in the right direction. You three just relax and when the meeting is over Sirius and I will talk to Dumbledore and Poppy. Grimmauld places heavily protected already. I'm sure with a few more wards in place the headmaster will agree you'll be better off here," Remus declared.

"We can't do that. The headmaster said it was imperative for us to be at the meeting today," Hermione interjected.

"Ordinarily I'd say you have every right to be at that meeting but I really think you'd be better off resting for the time being," said Sirius.

"Oh come on Sirius," responded Ron. "The meeting is just a bunch of people sitting around and talking it's not like you're going to make Harry run the mile. Besides if we don't go back downstairs, the twins are just going to come up here and pester us anyway."

Sirius considered this for a while before consenting.

"Fine but you sit with me and if I so much as think you're being overstimulated . . . " He allowed his sentence to trail off before picking up Harry and carrying him downstairs.


	4. Dumbledore's Mistakes

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Authors note I know it's been awhile since I've updated one of stories but I've been busy working on an original novel and haven't had much time to dedicate to my fan fiction writing.I hope that you will all forgive me and remember to review. Now if you will all indulge me a moment more I would like to respond to the anonymous review of my dear friend Paradise and say thanks so much for your wonderful comments. As you will this Sirius and Remus are none too pleased with Dumbledore at the moment.to Kat I would like to I have no intention of abandoning this story. One more thing before we continue on with the story I have received a number and e-mails from people curious as to to Lily and James will be reentering the story.the answer could come as early as chapter six but no later than chapter 7. I also think it's fair to warn you that this isn't your typical james and Lily returned story they're not dead and never were in all the stories I have read like that Lily and James are either grieving for the loss of their son or just plain evil. Neither of these statements apply here although any of you who are big fans of Snape probably won't be happy with his role in this tale now because I am getting awfully close to revealing important information I will get a move on with the story.

Chapter Four

Dumbledore's Mistakes

by Empathicallychosen

"If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience." George Bernard Shaw.

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(o)(o)(o)

Harry talked Sirius into putting him down before they entered the order meeting. The agreement was made because Sirius had already caused quite enough problems between Harry and Snape as it was. The young godfather could only imagine what cruel comments Snape would make when he heard that his former rival's son was mistreated by a bunch of Muggles. The longer they could delay his finding out the better it would be for everyone involved. Just the same Sirius kept a tight hold on Harry's shoulder. Harry opened his mouth to object which Sirius preempted by placing a gentle kiss atop the child's messy black locks. Harry fell silent immediately dawning an expression of sincere surprise which caused both Padfoot and Moony to smile.

Moony opened the door to the kitchen and he, Padfoot, Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the kitchen. At the sight of the children everyone raised eyebrows and began muttering to each other but the three young friends took no notice. Harry allowed himself to be steered into an empty chair and then flanked by Moony and Padfoot. Hermione and Ron both smiled reassuringly at him and took seats across the table. The only time either of them noticed their surroundings was when Ron realized he was sitting next to Professor Snape and scowled staring suspiciously at the man from beneath his fiery red hair. Sirius laughed but that was apparently the wrong response because no sooner had he started laughing then Molly rounded on him.

"Sirius Orion Black! I should have known you would do something like this! How many times do we have to go over this? The order of the Phoenix is no place for children. Honestly some days I wonder if your even fit to be a member anymore Sirius. It's clear you can't separate Harry from James and I -- . . . "

Sirius stopped laughing and jumped to his feet. In his anger Sirius towered higher even then Hagrid. Harry whimpered causing Moony to kick Padfoot beneath the table. Slowly Padfoot began to come to his senses. Turning to his charge Padfoot realized that Harry was having some sort of panic attack. His skin had gone ghostly pale, his green eyes were popping out of his head and the pounding of his chest was visible from all the way across the room. _Stay calm Padfoot, old boy. You wouldn't want to make your Harry scared of you, now would you?_

Padfoot sat down at once forgetting his anger with Molly and choosing instead to murmur reassuring things in his godchild's ear. As he whispered he threw caution to the wind and started stroking Harry's hair and face compassionately. From his position Sirius could see that Snape's humorless eyes were now alive with pleasure but Padfoot couldn't care less. When Harry was pacified Padfoot refocused his attention on Molly once more. Though this time when Padfoot addressed the mother, he did so in a voice of forced calm.

"I am very aware that Harry is not James. James is gone, despite everyone's popular opinions I do have a grasp of reality and in the future, Molly, I would prefer if you refrained from bad mouthing me in front of _my _child. As for allowing Harry and the others in the meeting, while I agree that Harry has every right to be at this meeting I didn't tell them to come. If you have a problem with that apparently, you have the headmaster to thank."

Everyone's eyes immediately swivelled from Harry and Sirius to Professor Dumbledore who sighed loudly getting to his feet.

"Thank you for that passionate introduction Sirius. I have a story to tell everyone and I pray you all let me tell it before you interrupt me," said the headmaster staring pointedly at Molly and Professor McGonagall before continuing, "it all beacons I suppose with three very young magical children. From the way I understand it these children were incredibly lonely and unbeknownst to themselves they cast a spell to find each other. How old were you then Harry?"

Sirius turned his attention to Harry in surprise. Harry was staring determinedly at the table waiting for the flush of embarrassment to pass from his face. He was clearly unprepared for the spotlight that had just been placed on himself and his friends. Harry muttered something inaudible to everyone except perhaps Padfoot and Moony. Finding Harry's shy nature incredibly endearing Padfoot through a comforting arm around Harry's shoulder and held him tightly so that the boy would feel safer in his surroundings. As he listened to the meek quality in Harry's voice Padfoot unconsciously found himself reflecting over just how much work it was going to be to turn Harry into the healthy, well-adjusted child everyone always envisioned. Luckily Padfoot enjoy a challenge.

"I think you might have to speak up Harry. Moony is getting rather old, I don't think he heard you," said Sirius playfully, ignoring the equally playful death glare he received in return.

"Three or four -- I think, Sir," Harry replied timidly.

"Much better Harry, I heard that just fine thank you," said Moony commandeering Harry from his godfather in order to bestow the boy with a quick one-armed hug.

Harry stiffened at the touch staring at Moony like he was in his werewolf form or something. Padfoot caught Moony's eye and they agreed. Harry would be broken of his unbecoming habits whether he liked it or not. Harry was pulled into an even longer embrace which had the entire order staring directly at Moony, Padfoot, and Harry. The two older men did nothing quite used to being the center of attention but the child sitting between them flinched and began trembling in Remus's hold. The lycanthrope responded by gently rubbing the boy's arms to rid them of the gooseflesh that had just appeared and was now muttering words of gentle reassurance to his pseudo-nephew. Meanwhile Sirius turned his attention to the room at large who were all busy gaping at Harry again.

"I was under the impression you had a story to tell, did you not Dumbledore," he said sharply pulling the old man out of his revelry and causing everyone else to jump in their seats.

:That I do," the headmaster murmured coming out of his distracted daze. "As I was saying, as small children Harry, Ron and Hermione cast a spell to find those more like themselves, magically powerful and lonely children."

"For reasons unknown even to myself the three friends remained invisible to those around them. Except of course in instances where one of them was able to convince an adult around them that the others existed, Thus the children were allowed to play undetected as anything more than one another's imaginary friends,"Dumbledore announced staring directly at Molly and Arthur.

Molly and Arthur were both staring between Harry, Ron and Hermione as if realizing something for the first time. Ron avoided his parents' gaze, looking up at the ceiling with an expression that suggested he wanted somebody to come and put him out of his misery. Arthur and Molly were looking extremely guilty suggesting they had not believed in little Ron's imaginary friends. Considering it logically Sirius had to admit it seemed very far-fetched to any adult that two invisible children were wandering around their house. Not to mention the fact that it was probably common for young Wizarding children to make-believe they were friends with The-Boy-Who-Lived, an imaginary muggle-born witch would have been a little harder to dismiss.

" Harry, Ron and Hermione felt less out of place when around one another but unfortunately they couldn't help noticing they were still different from everyone else. Ridiculed by family and friends the young threesome decided it would be best if they did not use their powers. Regrettably without their magic Harry, Ron and Hermione were unable to remain in contact with one another and their friendship died away. At Hogwarts the children met once more but fearing the ridicule they tried for so long to escape the friends pretended not to know each other. "

"Stupid Fred and George . . . just couldn't mind their own business," Ron muttered causing Moony to smirk.

"Yes, well, as I was saying, -- Harry, Ron and Hermione hid their friendship with several well orchestrated and rather public arguments. Things quickly changed after a fight preceding what was explained to me as a deliberately failed charms class. Words were said and Miss Granger headed off to the girl's lavatory as planned. Unfortunately the children did not count on Quirinius Quirrell helping a mountain troll into the school during the Halloween feast."

It took Sirius a long time to register exactly what Professor Dumbledore was saying. The words mountain troll were utterly inconceivable. Who in their right mind would allow a mountain troll inside the castle on Halloween. It reminded Sirius of a very bad school prank. Sirius laughed at the unexpected joke. Even the Marauders would've known better than to do such a thing.

Everyone stared at Sirius clearly not expecting this particular reaction. Sirius stared at them in confusion the only other person laughing was Remus and his amusement was quickly stifled when the mood turned serious. Sirius stared down at Harry who quickly looked down at the table giving off an essence of a boy very ashamed of putting his friend at risk. That was when Sirius realized that this was no joke. There really had been a mountain troll at Hogwarts.

The boiling rage Padfoot previously possessed returned with full force. What kind of lax security would allow an enormous mountain troll to enter the school unnoticed. Where were the teachers when Hermione and the others were plotting their unnecessary fights? How could Dumbledore put his Harry in this kind of danger and not tell him anything? Padfoot jumped to his feet ready to berate the headmaster for all of these things, but he was cut off by Remus who was addressing the headmaster with unbridled fury as he reprimanded the man for not keeping a closer eye on his cub. Padfoot never heard Moony at a loss for words but it seemed that was his exact predicament at the moment because he just kept repeating the same phrase over and over again.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN A MOUNTAIN TROLL?! WHO LETS TWO ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD BOYS GO TRAIPSING AFTER A MOUNTAIN TROLL?!"

"Technically we were traipsing after Hermione not the mountain troll," Ron said bravely. "We just kind of stumbled on the troll."

:

Ron obviously took offense to the idea that he and Harry would be stupid enough to go after a mountain troll on their own. Moony let out a low growl indicating to Ron that this was probably not the time for splitting hairs.

Ron fell silent. Taking a leaf out of Harry's book Ron and Hermione both stared blankly at the floor. It was clear to Sirius that they were in shock at Moony's behavior. This was not surprising considering that none of them had ever witnessed Remus John Lupin lose control of his faculties. There was one person who seemed quite pleased by the outburst. Severus Snape seemed nothing short of delighted by the werewolf's lack of knowledge as to the things Harry had gone through in their absence. Severus stood up sneering down at Remus with a wicked expression on his face.

"Don't tell me the Potter brat didn't tell his great guardians all about his little escapades," Snape jeered.

"That's it! I've had enough of you badmouthing Harry. You say horrible things about James -- yes he was incredibly immature at times but he was a good friend and a good man. Harry is like family to me and I won't allow you to treat him poorly anymore," Remus said.

Without another word the lycanthrope pulled out his wand and pointed it directly at Snape. Even Sirius was taken aback by the action. It was usually him who overreacted and Remus who responded by calming his blood brother down. Remus usually became indignant when a grave injustice was being committed. Padfoot knew that Remus was probably venting his feelings about the abuse. In the cold light of morning Remus would likely regret picking a fight with the potions master no matter how much Snape deserved it. Harry was staring at Remus's wand with an expression of silent horror. His heart continued to race as he watched the exchange but for all his interactions he might as well have been one of his mother's shrunken house elf heads. Then as soon as the wand in Remus's hand started moving as Remus prepared to cast the hex Harry jumped to his feet and began pulling desperately on Remus's robes and started sobbing nervously.

"I'm sorry I should have told you about the mountain troll sooner but I was worried you'd be mad at me. I thought you would hate me. Please don't be mad anymore. I'm sorry," Harry repeated the words over and over again pulling on Moony's sleeve.

"THAT'S ENOUGH," Dumbledore shouted commandeering the attention of the room again. "There'll be plenty of time for Harry to catch you up on all of his adventures later for now I'd prefer to be getting on with my story so that we can get on with the meeting."

Remus sat back down holding onto Harry's hand tightly. All the same Padfoot couldn't help noticing that Remus was glaring uncharacteristically at the headmaster from his seat at the table. Sirius kept a firm grip on his godson continuously murmuring to the boy about how much the werewolf cared for the child and what a lucky boy Harry was to have someone like Remus looking after him. Harry reacted by staring at Moony like he was a complete stranger with Hagrid's pension for life-threatening creatures. After a while Remus noticed Harry looking at him giving the boy a reassuring smile and a quick squeeze on the hand.

Harry squirmed but Remus didn't let go of Harry's hand. He kept a tight hold on it giving the appendage a quick squeeze every time he noticed Harry getting uncomfortable. Smiling over Harry's head at his last remaining best mate Padfoot winked before turning his attention back to the elderly headmaster who was still going on about things which although interesting had no relevance in the war against Voldemort, at least none that Sirius could see.

"It was at that point I felt it was my duty to step in considering that Harry, Ron and Hermione's refusal to use their powers was creating a massive advantage for Professor Quirrell. I called Harry, Ron and Hermione into my office and agreed to bind their powers."

Sirius was in shock. Given all the rumors about Ariana Dumbledore, Padfoot would have thought the headmaster would have more common sense than to put Harry in such a similarly life-threatening condition. Sirius wasn't the only one who felt that way. Molly was hissing at the headmaster like an angry goose and a handful of order members were throwing around Ariana's name among themselves. Remus was gaping at Dumbledore as though the two of them had never met. which wasn't surprising considering that Professor Dumbledore always tried to nurture Remus's talents claiming that even dark abilities could be used for good. Harry, Ron and Hermione were watching the interactions curiously. Clearly the headmaster's little sister was never mentioned to the children.

Dumbledore silenced everyone when he nearly broke down in tears while explaining that he could not watch the future repeat the past. It was explained to everyone that Harry, Ron and Hermione were placed under the protection of a spell that was so powerful it inadvertently altered the structure of reality changing the children's personalities ever so slightly. The more Sirius heard about Dumbledore's attempts at helping the more he disliked the entire situation. Nevertheless he couldn't help feeling a surge of anger when Dumbledore explained returning the powers to the children. It was bad enough he decided to take them from Harry, Ron and Hermione making the children feel justified in their fears of being inadequate.

Now Dumbledore would probably have Moody training Harry, Ron and Hermione so they would be ready for the encounter with the Dark Lord. Well Sirius wasn't going to have it. It was bad enough that Harry, Ron and Hermione had to deal with deranged murderers as many times as they have but Padfoot would not allow them to lose their childhood because of the psychopath. The order meeting seemed to drag on for what felt like ages. It practically killed Sirius to see Harry taking such detailed notes. After the meeting was over Molly approached the threesome demanding they go to bed. Harry looked hopefully at his godfather. Sirius shook his head nudging his charge toward the staircase.

"You go up to bed. Moony and I will be up as soon as we've talked to Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pompfrey," Sirius said firmly.

"But Padfoot -- . . . "

"Go on now, I'll be upstair soon to look after you," Sirius interrupted watching as Harry retreated upstairs before turning his attention back to Dumbledore.


	5. Sirius Authority

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Hey guys I was recently informed that it had been over a month since my last post. Sorry well you have one now. Before I get to the chapter though I need to ask a quick question does anyone know how I can check the results of my poll?

Anonymous review. Paradise: thank you, thank you, thank you. You're always so sweet. Just so you know you're right. Anyway I think it's time we get to the chapter so without further ado.

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Chapter Five

Sirius Authority

by Empathicallychosen

"Discipline is a symbol of caring to a child. He needs guidance. If there is love, there is no such thing as being too tough with a child. A parent must also not be afraid to hang himself. If you have never been hated by your child, you have never been a parent." Bette Davis

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Sirius watched the headmaster for quite a while without uttering a single word. This surprised him greatly. Sirius expected to fly off the handle shouting a number of obscenities at the old man. However he was just so incensed that he couldn't even find words to express himself. There was just so much to be angry about at the moment that he didn't know where to start his rant . the abuse Harry suffered at the hands of his relatives was of course Sirius's main complaint. But following the revelation revealed during the meeting Sirius was beginning to understand Harry's desire for secrecy more fully.

While it was true that certain members such as Molly and Professor McGonagall were still cross with the headmaster for removing the children's powers for such ill thought out reasons. Most of the order however seemed to be celebrating the apparent advantage Harry, Ron and Hermione would provide. It was no wonder that the children felt so helpless when most of Dumbledore's loyal supporters would trust his judgment even after learning of such stupidity. It broke Sirius's heart to think that Harry believed that he and Remus would go along with whatever Dumbledore told them to do even if it meant leaving Harry in a horrible situation. Then again their track record wasn't exactly clean and even Arthur seemed willing to use his son if it meant ending the war with Voldemort. Sirius was just about to tell Emmeline Vance off for commenting that Dumbledore had created quite the secret weapon in the three children when a crash from upstairs commandeered his attention.

"Everything okay up there Harry," he asked.

"Sure thing Sirius," came Ron's response. "Harry just missed a couple of stairs."

"All right. Well be careful Puppy, I don't want you hurt any more than you already are," cautioned Sirius

Once Harry promised to be more careful Sirius turned his attention to the other order members again. They were all staring at him as though they didn't realize that compassion was within his spectrum of emotions. Sirius rolled his eyes. How else did they expect him to treat Harry? His godson and Remus were the only family he had left. Barking at everyone to put their eyes back in their heads Sirius approached the headmaster and all of his qualms about what to say melted away as a long-winded tirade escaped his lips. Perhaps Professor Dumbledore could sense that his tirade had more to do with an unknown mystery then it actually had to do with Dumbledore removing Harry's powers. He remained silent and allowed Sirius and Remus to call him every name under the sun without complaint. Unfortunately for the order members some of them were not as wise as the headmaster. Mad-Eye even went so far as to call Sirius a fool for caring about the quality of Harry's life when they're was a megalomaniac out there killing thousands of people.

"See here you paranoid old twit! I want Voldemort gone just as much as the next person but I will not offer Harry as a lamb to the slaughter," Sirius bellowed. "He has sacrificed more than enough already."

"Please calm down Sirius. I know you are angry with me but you must believe I was acting in Harry's best interest."

"You're a liar Albus. Sirius and I can't believe you anymore. You promised me Harry would be safe with those people," Remus interrupted coldly. ""Well he isn't you were so busy trying to protect him from dark wizards you were willing to overlook the fact that you handed him over to monsters."

"Really Remus, Petunia and Vernon Dursley might be a tad eccentric. But Lily was Petunia's sister and– . . . "

"THEY'VE ABUSED HIM HIS WHOLE LIFE," Sirius bellowed indignantly. "HE'S UP THERE BATTERED AND BRUISED AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Silence followed Sirius's pronouncement. No one apparently knew what to say. The only one making any noise at all was Molly who was sobbing uncontrollably and making wild threats about the things that she was going to do to Harry's despicable relatives. Then all of a sudden cold laughter filled the kitchen. Everyone wheeled around and Sirius wasn't surprised to see the laughter coming from none other than the potions master. Outraged Minerva ordered Severus to shut his mouth before she cursed him into oblivion. Sirius thought wildly at that moment that he wouldn't need magic to do unspeakable things to his former rival. Surprisingly before Sirius could even think about strangling the man with his bare hands. Remus took up his previous objections. With a strength Sirius rarely saw his old friend use Remus grabbed Severus around the collar and started dragging him to the front door.

"Get out and pray that I don't find you during my next transformation," he snarled. "You're psychotic. It's no wonder Lily regretted her friendship with you. In the end you repulsed her."

Glaring daggers at Remus, Snape turned on his heels and disappeared into the darkness. Now that Sirius was no longer in danger of doing something that would undoubtably get him locked back up in Azkaban. He set his attention to making sure Harry was comfortable. Beckoning for a Kreature Sirius ordered the house self to take some of Sirius's finer pajamas and shrink them down to fit his godchild. Then he instructed Kreature to take the old clothes Harry was currently wearing and have them burnt. In the morning once the danger had passed, Sirius would give Remus access to the black family vault and send him out to buy the child an entirely new wardrobe. Meanwhile Sirius decided to keep himself busy by seeing to Harry's every need.

* * *

Harry trudged up the stairs all of a sudden very aware of how exhausted he was feeling. The tingle of the second dose of glamour powder he received from Hermione and Ron was wearing off steadily. Harry tripped over one of the stairs landing with a loud crash. All at once he heard Sirius call up to him to see if he was all right. Thunderstruck by the pure affection in his godfather's voice Harry was too distracted to respond. He felt an instant gratitude for Ron who had the wherewithal to answer on his behalf.

Looking down at the staircase Harry could see that blood was now trickling down several of the stairs. One of his wounds must have reopened. At the first landing Harry had to stop and take a rest when he did he heard several astonished gasps signifying that Sirius must've revealed the abuse. As if in confirmation Mrs. Weasley began crying, in the middle of her sobs she started hollering about how she was going to kill the Dursleys. With a heavy sigh Harry looked at Ron who smiled weakly. Harry reluctantly returned the action and continued to climb the stairs again.

When Harry at last reached his destination he bid goodnight to his friends and entered the room his godfather set up for him. Walking over to the bed, Harry nearly crashed into the most bizarre house-elf he'd ever seen in his life. It was wearing a disgustingly grimy rag fashioning a loincloth. It looked very old. Its skin seemed to be several times too big for it and, though it was bald like all house-elves, there was a quantity of white hair growing out of its large, bat-like ears. Its eyes were a bloodshot and watery grey and its fleshy nose was large and rather snout-like. The elf was staring at the trail of blood Harry left behind in utter repulsion. When it spoke the creature muttered under his breath in a hoarse, deep voice like a bullfrog's.

"... spilling his half breed blood all over my mistress's house. Master Sirius is ordering me to help it, like Kreature cares whether the boy lives or dies," the elf muttered disdainfully.

Harry didn't know what to say. It was obvious that this particular house elf wasn't in its right mind. Should he say something or should he just wait for the elf to notice him. Before Harry had completely made up his mind, the elf thrust a pair of striped pajamas at him and left the room. Deciding they would fit better then Dudley's oversized hand-me-downs he changed into them quickly. As he slipped off his rundown trainers, Harry realized that his feet were standing in shallow pools of blood. He groaned. if Padfoot and Moony were overprotective now than how much worse was it going to get when they were actually able to see the extent of the damage. The pajamas were still a size or two too big but it was still a better fit and Harry was immensely grateful that Sirius allowed him to borrow the clothing.

"It's a sad sight when my clothes are too big on someone," muttered a voice from the hallway.

Harry jumped a foot in the air spun around and came face to face with Sirius. His godfather's comment was meant as a joke nevertheless he could make out the underlying tone of anger and bitterness in his voice. Harry was about to respond when Sirius gasped. All of a sudden Harry felt very weak and allowed his body to slip to the floor. The magic of the glamour had worn off completely. Sirius came to his senses at once rushing to Harry side. Without warning Padfoot scooped Harry into his arms clutching the boy close to his chest. Harry tried to object by pointing out that the blood was going to get all over Sirius's brand-new robes but the older man wasn't listening he just kept repeating over and over again about how Madam Pompfrey would be up very soon to have a look at him. As if on cue Madam Pompfrey burst into the room followed closely by Remus, Mrs. Weasley, Professor Dumbledore and much to Harry superb disgust Professor Snape. Sirius growled muttering obscenities at the headmaster for inviting the potions master back into his house. Exhausted and unable to stay awake any longer Harry drifted into sweet unconsciousness.

* * *

Remus walked in the room to find Sirius holding onto Harry who was in a vastly different condition from what Remus had seen downstairs. Putting it bluntly Harry strongly resembled death warmed over twice. There were innumerable bruises several of which particularly around the neck bore an eerie similarity to finger marks. Harry's feet were gnarled and covered in blood, his left eye was swollen shut and Harry's wand arm was sticking out at a bizarre angle suggesting it was broken in one or two places and those were just the injuries he could see. There was really no way of determining how much damage was done internally until Madam Pompfrey finished her examination of Harry's physical state. To say nothing of the mental and emotional scars the child would be battling.

The matron was obviously in a state of shock regardless she never skipped a beat. She immediately ordered Sirius to put Harry down and allow her to get to work. Sirius was extremely reluctant to let go of Harry but understanding that she couldn't possibly heal Harry without some latitude he heeded Madam Pompfrey's demands. Watching the frantic nurse race around the room barking orders at Snape and Molly Remus couldn't help feeling a fresh wave of resentment toward Dumbledore.

Remus had tried to prepare himself for the horrors inflicted on his beloved would-be nephew but nothing could have prepared him for the extent of the damage done. It didn't help that when Harry was explaining what he had been through the boy had apparently been trying to downplay the ordeal. Remus knew it was to be expected and yet part of him was annoyed that Harry was still with holding important information from them.

At the same time Remus couldn't deny that if it hadn't been for the blood wards Harry would have felt more comfortable being forthcoming with them. Remus doubted very much that it was possible for Harry to forget to mention being whipped by his relatives. Nevertheless there was no mistaking the crisscross patterns littering Harry's back. Remus felt Sirius tense beside him and he knew that things were about to get a lot more unbearable at number 12.

Sensing the tension Madam Pompfrey took it upon herself to banish both Marauders from the room until her examination was complete. Remus and Sirius paced around the kitchen in complete silence. Except of course for the occasional despairing moan from Sirius who gave up on his pacing and sank into a chair looking downcast. At the look of total despair on Padfoot's face Remus spent the rest of their exile contemplating whether or not he could get away with showing up at Number Four during the next full moon.

Madam Pompfrey's examination of Harry lasted an hour and a half. Both men were getting increasingly irritated as time passed. When Molly arrived in the kitchen to retrieve them neither waited for the mother to finish her sentence before bolting back up the stairs into Harry's bedroom. Madam Pompfrey was sitting in an arm chair wiping sweat from her brow when they entered. From where Remus was standing he could see that she had earn the right to rest.

Harry was covered in bandages and was barely distinguishable from a mummy. Yet where little more than an hour ago there was a boy in agony there was now a child resting comfortably. When Madam Pompfrey saw the two men hurry into the room, she took the opportunity to inform them about each and every potion Harry needed to take.

Remus growled. He had never dreamed that any one person would need to take so many potions. In the end Sirius had to write them all down so that they wouldn't forget something. Remus saw the desperation in his friend's eyes and knew that Sirius would sooner die than even unintentionally deny Harry such much-needed medical attention. Madam Pompfrey seemed to notice this as well and smiled.

"Now the two of you are going to need to be hyper vigilant when it comes to this boy. Mr. Potter has a tendency to make his healing process more difficult than it needs to be," Madam Pompfrey informed them,

"Harry is a good boy," Remus snarledl..

"I'm not saying otherwise," Madam Pompfrey nodded. "I simply feel obligated to warn you that Harry is different from other children. He is more likely to rely on himself than admit he needs help from anyone."

"You would prefer I were a burden," interrupted a raspy voice.

Remus, Sirius and Madam Pompfrey all turned to see Harry prop himself up in bed. Sirius and Remus rushed over to his bedside desperate to be sure their charge was all right. Neither man had any doubt that Madam Pompfrey had done her best to try and heal the patient. Nevertheless, due to the extent of Harry's injuries they weren't willing to merely assume Harry was comfortable.

Almost at once the two grown marauders were tested to see whether or not they could handle Harry's blatant disregard for his own well-being. After being questioned as to how he was feeling Harry reddened slightly and insisted he was perfectly fine. When Remus rolled his eyes at the foolishness of the declaration, Harry took offense. Climbing out of bed he commented vaguely about needing a glass of water. He made a move to leave the room and Madam Pompfrey looked as though she were going to object but Sirius intervened before she had an opportunity.

"You shouldn't be moving around Puppy. I'll get you something to drink, " Sirius stated. "Why don't you lay back down?"

"Come off it, Sirius. I 'm more than capable of getting myself a glass of water," Harry commented ignoring his godfather's request to get back into bed.

"It's not a matter of whether you are physically capable of getting the water without killing yourself. I told you to get back to bed and I intend to see that you do so. You can either go of your own volition or I can put you back there myself. The choice is yours," Sirius declared firmly.

Harry never having received an ultimatum from his godfather or indeed a direct order didn't seem to grasp the severity of Sirius's words. Staring at the older man as though he were out of his mind Harry stood his ground. With a heavy sigh serious gently picked Harry up and placed him on the bed. A mixture of emotions filled the room. Harry was stunned that Sirius actually forced him to behave rather than leaving the ultimate decision to Harry the way things might have been done in the past.

Sirius meanwhile was both angry and disappointed by Harry's outright disobedience. He masked his pain by lecturing Harry about the way things were going to be handled from now on and how whenever Sirius told Harry to do something he expected it to be done. Remus didn't know whom he felt more empathy for at the moment. Sirius who was being forced to discipline Harry or Harry who still had no idea what he had done wrong. It was difficult to tell whether Harry was more upset because Sirius was reprimanding him or because he had never before been informed that his well being was someone's main priority.

"I haven't always been able to be there for you Harry that's my fault," admitted Sirius."But I'm your godfather and the key word there is; father. Meaning I have the duty to see that you're taken care of even when you're not willing to do it."

"Yeah well you ate rat's last year to fulfill your promise to my parents. I think that qualifies you to give up on me now." Harry commented.

"You're wrong Harry. I ate those rats because I love you. I know I haven't told you that since you were a baby and I'm sorry but the truth is I would give my life for you," corrected Sirius visibly affronted that Harry didn't know his true motives for needing to be a good guardian.

Remus felt an instant pride in Sirius. True Remus hadn't known how deeply Harry's need had run but Harry was always starved for attention. His desire to please others was what prompted Harry to be so adamant about conjuring a Patronus. Remus could see now That Harry's determination to do anything in order to win a match was different from the Quidditch obsession James had carried. While it was true that James enjoy the attention he got from Quidditch spectators Harry seemed to physically need to win every match just to prove himself worthy of being loved. Maybe now that he and Sirius understood how pivotal it was for Harry to feel their love for him The young seeker wouldn't need to do such risky stunts just to fill the void. Much too Remus's astonishment however, rather than being contented by Sirius's words Harry's eyes filled with tears.

"Don't say that,"Harry cried..

"No Puppy, don't cry. Everything is just fine," Sirius comforted while attempting to pull Harry into a hug.

In response Harry shoved Sirius away, "don't you get it! You're not supposed to love me. Mum and dad loved me and look what happened to them. I got them killed. Your best friend is dead because of me. I did that Sirius. I killed them just like I killed Cedric. I'm a monster and I deserve more than what I got."

Remus couldn't believe what he was hearing how could Harry possibly blame himself for his parents death? How could Harry possibly blame himself for the death of that other champion last year when the sole responsibility lay on Peter and Voldemort? How could he possibly believe that anyone deserved the kind of torment Petunia and Vernon caused? Instead of being confused and saddened, Sirius was outrage by Harry's comments.

He was never one to sit back quietly if ever someone insulted his precious godchild and to hear Harry speaks so harshly of himself was an obvious slap in the face. It couldn't help matters either that Padfoot was still reeling from the similar declarations Snape made whilst laughing at Harry's predicament. Sirius's face reddened and without a second thought Sirius raised his wand and pointed it at Harry.

"I'm sorry about this Harry, I really am but I won't sit here and listen to you spout such vile nonsense," Sirius said remorsefully."Scourgify."

All at once pink soap bubbles began protruding from Harry's mouth. Remus was taken aback. The last time he had witnessed such behavior was when a 16-year-old James hexed Snape for calling Lily a mudblood during their fifth year. Of course James had been much crueler administering the punishment and had prolonged the torture for longer than was necessary. Sirius only allowed Harry's discomfort to last as long as it took to get the message across. Nevertheless Remus couldn't help thinking that Sirius might be overreacting as much as James had. It was obvious that Harry had made his comment out of pain and confusion.

Notwithstanding Remus didn't feel it was appropriate to criticize Sirius attempts at discipline. Especially considering the fact that Sirius was struggling to make the boy understand that he was an authority figure in Harry's life. Remus's empathy for Sirius only grew when the punishment was over and Sirius followed the punishment with an outpouring of love nearly breaking down in tears as he smothered Harry in kisses practically begging Harry not to make him do anything like that again. Once Harry promised to behave himself, Sirius broke into a grin gave Harry a final kiss on the forehead and hurried downstairs to get Harry the drink he was undoubtably craving now more than ever. When Sirius disappeared. Remus took the opportunity to take his spot next to Harry's bedside. Wondering how he was going to help Harry to understand the way things were meant to work out between them he spoke up.

"So Harry do you remember when you told me I was the best professor you ever had," Remus asked finally.

Harry nodded clearly wondering where his former professor was going with the conversation.

"Well I was just thinking that I can't wait to start teaching you about family," Remus announced.

Before Harry could decide how to respond Sirius reappeared carrying a jug of ice-cold pumpkin juice. The two marauders could all but see Harry salivating over the liquid. The sheer desperation in the child's eyes was heartbreaking. Unfortunately for one reason or another, Harry refused to accept the refreshment. It was almost as though he thought Sirius was testing him. Determinedly Harry flipped onto his side facing the wall. Sirius tried to force the goblet into Harry's hands but Harry was adamant that he changed his mind and was no longer thirsty. Sirius and Remus knew better.

They had both been subject to cleaning spells as punishment and knew from experience that Harry would have been willing to drink an entire bottle of hot sauce if it would get rid of the soapy taste in his mouth. Unwilling to relent Sirius and Remus both badgered Harry to take the pumpkin juice and practically force-fed the boy three goblets full before they were satisfied. Unbeknownst to any of the men in the room Madam Pompfrey slipped away, more confident than ever that she was leaving her patient in capable and loving hands.


	6. The Deranged Obsession of Professor Snap

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ht everyone, sorry this post is so late.Things got out of hand. I go in for surgery tommorow and will be spending a month in the hospital. Naturally I don't when my next post will be. I'd like to apologize for not resonding to reviews i'll do when I come back. Also I have gotten a lot o comments about Harry punishment. This is not a corporal punishment FIC! What Sirius did was an act of love

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Chapter Six

The Deranged Obsession of Professor Snape

"Love is as much of an object as an obsession, everybody wants it everybody seeks it, but few ever achieve it, those who do, will cherish it, be lost in it, and among all, will never...never forget it." -Curtis Judalet

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Severus Snape was fuming as he slammed his empty fire whiskey bottle on the table. He was angry because that meddling old fool made him save the Potter brat. Time and time again Dumbledore was asking why he couldn't forgive Potter for being the son of his school rival. What Dumbledore didn't know was that his hatred of Harry had very little to do with the fact that he was the son of his former tormentor James Potter and everything to do with the fact that he was the son of the only girl he ever loved, one Lily Evans Potter.

A son which by the way he, Severus had nothing to do with bringing into the world and thanks to that mangy werewolf Lupin, Snape could now remember exactly why Lily stopped being his friend. Snape's crush on Lily Evans was widely known to everyone except perhaps to the object of his unrequited love herself. What was not so widely publicized was the depths his obsession ran to.

Then the summer before his sixth year everything changed. Lily came to his home in spinners end to confront Severus about calling her a mud blood. Unfortunately when Lily barged into his bedroom the greasy haired teenager was currently kneeling over the shrine dedicated to his love. For reasons Severus did not completely understand Lily seem to find his total devotion disturbing. To Severus there was nothing wrong with the fact that his bedroom was plastered with photographs Lily had no idea were being taken or the fact that he collected every piece of gum she ever chewed.

But for some reason it touched a nerve Lily ran out of the house screaming that Snape ought to be admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital For Magical Maladies and Injuries for observation. Nothing happened between Potter and lily until the following year nevertheless their sixth year marked a change in their relationship. Lily went from loathing Potter to actually be coming the star Chaser's friend. Eventually that friendship blossomed into something more and before Snape knew what was happening Lily was married and having Potter's baby (after an acceptable period of wedded bliss, of course.)

Meanwhile Severus had joined a group called Death Eaters and had been ordered to spy on Dumbledore for the Dark Lord which was when Snape heard Trelawney give that prediction fifteen years previous. Voldemort had little Harry in his sights but he also had a plan for Lily and James. Harry's parents were very powerful but they were also obstinate and didn't know what was best for them. In an attempt to persuade them Voldemort had Severus brew a Draught of the Living Dead Potion to keep the Potters on ice untl the day that Voldemort perfected his mind control potion that would ultimately be more powerful than a well-placed imperious charm. The potion was meant to be so powerful that not even Dumbledore would've been able to resist it pull.

Of course Voldemort didn't come out victorious against baby Potter and Severus found himself with a unique opportunity in front of him. He took Lily gave her the antidote and force-fed her an illegal love potion. Just because he knew it would kill James to see his devoted wife playing house with another man Severus decided to take James as well turning him into a lowly slave. As long as Harry was alive and remained unharmed James was surprisingly obedient. It turned out little Harry was a very valuable tool in Snape's arsenal. His revenge would have been perfect were it not for the fact that every time he tried to get intimate with his new bride Lily would come to her senses and remember just how much she loved James. After a while Snape grudgingly decided he would have to settle for snogging which was as far as Lily would allow the mockery to go.

Each summer for fourteen years Severus would go on with his twisted game of house until the last day of summer break when Snape had to return to Hogwarts putting his captives to rest until he returned to start the whole process over again next summer.

Then the Dark Lord regained his power which meant that Snape was forced to give up his toys and take up his former role as a triple agent spying on Dumbledore. The last thing that Snape wanted to do in the few moments of peace he had was going around healing that ungrateful whelp Harry, just because the child couldn't properly protect himself against a couple of worthless Muggles. Voldemort on the other hand was nothing short of giddy at the news of Potter's abusive home life.

"I think it's time for a little family reunion," Voldemort said smiling wickedly.

* * *

Harry was upstairs confined to his bed playing a game of chess with Ron when it happened. Ginny's scream alerted them that something was drastically wrong. Sirius and Remus were both downstairs arguing about what Harry should he served for lunch leaving Harry free to do what he had always done and investigate the matter. With a sideways glance at both Ron and Hermione, Harry leapt out of bed gripping his wand tightly. He reached for the door handle but before he could turn it the door was blasted off its hinges nearly colliding right into Hermione.

There in the doorway stood an army of Death Eaters. In between them were two struggling hostages, Remus and Sirius. More peculiar were the two Death Eaters chosen to detained the two prisoners. Holding onto Padfoot was a man who had hazel eyes hidden behind a pair of golden spectacles. His hair was very untidy. It stuck up in the back, just as Harry's did. The man was slightly older than the man he saw in the Mirror of Erised but there was no denying his identity. This man was James Potter. He was standing next to a woman who had a vice like grip on Remus.

The woman was even more stunningly gorgeous than Harry imagined her. Her thick dark red hair was done up in a bun and from what Harry could see it had not yet begun to lose its luster. The woman's eyes were a brilliant green color and almond-shaped, like those of her only son, her name was Lily Evans Potter. _No_, Harry reminded himself_. I heard their deaths._ _They were willing to die to protect me they would not have become Death Eaters. _But if these people _were _Death Eaters under polyjuice potion then why had they not taken on the appearance of Harry's 21-year-old parents instead of aging perfectly throughout the years?

Apparently reading Harry's mind the man shoved Sirius into the arms of a fellow death eater freeing him to approach Harry. Rather than attacking however James stood stock still and with the tiny pop he was gone. Where the man once stood now stood a majestic stag putting any doubt Harry had regarding the man's identity to rest. No amount of magic could properly emulate an animagus form. Not even Tom Riddle or Dumbledore were that powerful.

Harry took a step back his mind told him to run but the rest of his body was frozen by shock. He didn't here Remus beckoning him to run. He did however manage to make out Lily's every word as she shook Remus roughly ordering him to be quiet. Harry was so mesmerized and hurt he didn't struggle while the army of Death Eaters led them out of number twelve Grimmauldplace or as he was forced inside the now familiar Riddle House. The group did not stop marching until they entered a large dining room Riddle had converted into his own personal throne room.

Inside Harry came face to face with Lord Voldemort for the fifth time in his life. For the first time however Harry's scar was not hurting. Curiously Harry allowed himself to be forced into a chair alongside a mahogany dining table. When both Hermione and Ron were seated to his left Voldemort's face broke into a smile. It wasn't the murderous smile Harry had grown accustomed to but rather something far more cunning. Nevertheless, the result was no less creepy. With a wave of his hand several battered house-elves appeared carrying trays of food.

"I hope you understand why we're not terribly incline to dine Voldemort," said Harry calmly. "But I do have a question before we begin our usual tango."

Remus and Sirius along with several of Voldemort's followers were amazed at the decorum Harry used when speaking with the monstrous creature who had tried to claim his life on several occasions. Several deranged Death Eaters barked at Harry to show some respect but Voldemort raised his hand to silence them. He was watching the way Harry kept glancing at his parents both of whom were staring at Harry with a look of insatiable hunger.

Voldemort's sickening smile grew ever wider as he relayed a most unbelievable tale about a mind control potion and Snape's perverted desire to make Harry's mother his wife. Harry tore his eyes away from James at the exact same moment that Ron, Hermione, Remus and Sirius did the same. Their eyes met and they agreed the potions master was more evil than any of them could've possibly imagined. A growl of displeasure escape both Lily and James. Snape who was busy ogling Lily averted his eyes. At long last the entire sordid story ended. When that part was finished Voldemort took the liberty of explaining why Harry, Ron and Hermione were currently sitting at a dining room table instead of battling for their lives.

In light of their powers returning Voldemort had decided to change his objective. Rather than simply kill all three of them something which he grudgingly admitted didn't work as well as he would've hoped. The three friends would soon be joining his death eater ranks. The only question Voldemort had was whether Dumbledore's Golden Trio would join him of their own free will or whether he would have to order his mind control potion to be forced down their throats. Remus and Sirius had no choice in the matter they were used as guinea pigs to show everyone else in the room precisely how serious Voldemort was about using his mind control potion to get what he wanted. The potion was force-fed to each and in a matter of seconds where to kind Marauders had been were now two ruthless supporters of Voldemort. It was beginning to dawn on everyone exactly what Voldemort's plans for Harry, Ron and even Hermione were.

The death eaters around the table were stunned. Several of them objected to having another Muggleborn joining their ranks. They've seemed to be tolerating Lily based solely on the fact that they thought her mind control was for the sole purpose of destroying her precious baby boy. Harry could see where they got their objections. Mind control potion a side neither James or Lily looked remotely menacing toward Harry anymore. As a matter of fact Lily had long since forced Sirius out of his protective position next to Harry stroking Harry's bony, trembling hand tenderly. Harry's first glimpse at just how dastardly the potion could be came when Harry vehemently denied the offer.

" I don't think so,"he replied coldly. "If I joining it would make things awfully difficult for me to kill you and dance on your grave."

Enraged Voldemort turned to James.

"Your son is very disrespectful. I think it's high time he were punished," hissed the Dark Lord.

Unexpectedly Harry was dragged into the middle of the room by his collar. Then roughly he was thrown to the floor. All too soon Harry was once again met with the familiar sensation of pain. But it wasn't Voldemort or even uncle Vernon causing the agony shooting up his arms and legs. The one on whom Harry's blood was splattered was James Potter. As the beating continued Harry started getting flashbacks of his uncle's cruelty and unconsciously he began hating James for making him relive those terrifying moments. He bit back the urge to scream when James cast the Cruciatus curse on Harry actually holding the spell for at least a minute before finally throwing Harry against the wall and starting to choke the life out of him.

It was in that moment something happened that made all of Harry's anger die away. Through the fuzziness created by a lack of oxygen Harry was able to see his father clearly for the first time throughout the abuse. James Potter was bawling like an infant. His eyes were caught in a strange sort of rhythm between their usual hazel and a red to match those of Voldemort. That was the first time during the entire ordeal that Harry realized the difference between his father and Uncle Vernon. James wasn't enjoying the pain in Harry's eyes. He didn't relish the anguish on his son's face the way Voldemort and the rest of the death eaters did. In a moment when James's grip had loosened Harry took the opportunity to speak.

"Changed -- mind -- we'll -- think about it," he gasped out.

Of course Harry had no intention of joining the Death Eaters and he never did. All he wanted was to give himself, Ron and Hermione time to come up with a plan to free the Marauders from their unusual prison. Thankfully he was given an opportunity by none other then the dark Lord himself. Smiling wickedly he ordered James to let go excusing him to take Harry home and do whatever he wanted with the children until further notice. Gratefully his father started sobbing even harder as his hand let Harry go.Gasping for air Harry slid down the wall landing in a crumpled mess and vomiting all over a pare of shiny black shoes. James didn't seem to mind instead he caressed Harry pale cheek ignoring the way Harry flinched when he was touched. Scooping Harry into his arms James carried Harry out of the room exactly like a father holding a newborn baby for the first time. In spite of himself Harry blushed at their jeering voices of the Death Eaters. James on the other hand took no notice choosing instead to place all of his focus on Harry.

"Don't you worry I am going to take such good care of you," he whispered brushing away several stubborn strands of hair from Harry's sweaty forehead. "Daddy's back and I'm going to fix this you'll see."

"Likewise," Harry muttered.

* * *

Author's note: ABSOLUTELY NO FLAMES ABOUT JAMES AT ALL. HE IS A GOOD FATHER WHO LOVES HIS SON! IT WAS JUST A VERY BAD, BAD MAGICAL REACTION! THE MAN HAD NO CONTROL I SWEAR!


	7. Molly's Follies

Authors note: yes this is an actual chapter! I finished chapter 10 and decided to celebrate by posting a little treat for all of you who have stuck by me. Before you can read the actual chapter I have a warning he waited so long I only gave the chapter 1 read through after I finish writing it and there is no beta so beware of grammatical errors and don't flame about them because I won't respond. Now to anonymous reviewer; Thank you for your review! Actually I got a lot of response about Sirius punishment.. I'm sorry if you felt it was too harh but I believe I would've gotten the same response no matter what punishment I chose. Please give me a minute to explain why it happened the way it did . Sirius could not allow Harry to continue speaking so horribly about himself and wanted to make the message clear. Besides the man is not a child psychologist he is simply doing the best he can with the knowledge he had.

One more thing before I get out of your way I apologize to those who didn't get a response to reviews. There are just so many . I'll try to do better in future and now

* * *

Chapter Seven

Molly's Follies

"We discovered that members were being deprived of an important opportunity to ask questions and speak freely among themselves. Families have curtains for a reason, and that is to provide them with a certain level of privacy as they develop relationships. The same can be true of a caucus." -- Kate Brown

* * *

If Harry had any doubt that his parents were indeed prisoners of Lord Voldemort they were wiped away when he came to and saw the state in which they were living. The quarters might have been cozy were it not for the bars covering every exit or entrance. Due in no small part to the brainwashing, James, Lilly, Remus and even Sirius didn't seem to mind the confines.

The quarters were exceptionally large for a prison cell. It even had separate sleeping quarters for Sirius and Remus. Harry, Ron and Hermione found themselves guests in their own private dungeon in the cellar complete with individual containment cells. They spent most of their time making up spells to help them escape. Though Harry's efforts were somewhat halfhearted. Now that he knew his parents were alive, he didn't want to leave them. Even if they were slaves to the most evil wizard in history. Nevertheless he agreed that if they were going to break the spell the best chance they had was with Dumbledore's help.

Unfortunately the one time they managed to escape Voldemort's Lair they barely made it outside the grounds before James, Remus and Sirius caught up with them. Luckily the Marauders had enough control over their own faculties not to alert any of their fellow Death Eaters. Instead Harry, Ron and Hermione were escorted back to the basement where they were placed in armchairs and bound with invisible restraints.

Although the magical bind was less uncomfortable than robes or even a full body bind the restraints reminded Harry far too much of life at the Dursleys. He handled the flashbacks remarkably well until night came forcing the teenage boy into a world of never-ending nightmares. It was on the second evening of this torture that Harry jerked awake. It

became apparent almost immediately why. Footsteps were making their way down the stairs that led to the cellar.

Determined not to seem weak Harry screwed up his face. Regrettably there was nothing the fifteen-year-old could do to remove the red puffy evidence of tears. The moment the door opened and light once again flooded the room Lily, Remus, Sirius and James could all see how roughly the past forty-eight hours had treated him.

"Oh Harry," Lily gaped.

"We are so sorry mate," Remus interrupted, waving his wand over all three of the children setting them free. "We never meant to leave you for so long. There was just so much if you before your initiation tonight."

"It's not happening," responded Harry folding his arms across his chest.

"Oh yes it is," retorted James "If you don't go through with it Voldemort will kill you."

The worry plastered all over James's face left no room to argue. Silently Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at one another and decided they would just have to turn to their old standby and make it up as they went along. In true motherly fashion Lily fussed over the state of their clothing until James patiently reminded his wife that the others were waiting.

As they were being led upstairs, Harry tried to focus on which of their newfound powers would best help them out of their current predicament. When they reentered Voldemort's throne room however, what they saw momentarily wiped escape from Harry's mind. Chained to the other side of the wall were four people. The first was Hermione's paternal grandmother Gertrude Granger. Then there were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Harry was particularly surprised to see them. He and the others had assumed the rest of the people residing in number 12 were long dead. The last prisoner was none other than Harry's whale of a cousin.

Both Ron and Hermione looked horrified. The Dark Lord expected Harry, Ron and Hermione to prove their loyalty by disposing of their families. Harry on the other hand found Voldemort's exact orders inspiring. He wanted them to display their powers by "getting rid of the guests." If that was what the man wanted that was exactly what he would get. Clearing his throat Harry took a step former.

"This twisted game is not in store. Transport the innocent to Dumbledore."

Voldemort let out a roar of rage as three of the four prisoners vanished in a haze of smoke. The only one left behind was Ron's mother. Harry couldn't understand it. Had he worded the spell improperly? Harry didn't think so. Mrs. Weasley was by far more innocent than Dudley Dursley. Which meant Harry's power weren't strong enough after so long spent dormant. Maybe if they had said that spell together they would have had enough strength.

_Too late for that_, Harry thought bitterly. _Voldemort isn't stupid enough to give us another shot at it. _Confirming Harry's worst fear the Dark Lord raised his wand and wordlessly cast the Cruciatus curse on him. The agonizing pain shot through Harry as though he were being electrocuted.

Finally just before Harry was brought to the point of total madness the spell lifted. Harry looked up in total surprise only to find Lily huddled over him shielding his body. Harry had just enough strength left to cast his eyes around the room and he noted with immense relief that like Lily, James, Sirius and Remus were back to their old selves, as far as he could tell anyway_. One problem down. That just leaves escaping._

Knowing that Harry was safe from the unforgivable curse at least for the time being Ron and Hermione started to try and work out a plan. Unfortunately all they had managed to accomplish was argue rather publicly about where Harry's spell had gone wrong and how to fix it. Unexpectedly a girlish, wheezing laughter rang out from the Death Eaters. Everyone knew without even looking that the sound had come from none other than Peter Pettigrew an unwelcome guest in the Weasley household for twelve years. Voldemort immediately turned his attention from Harry to where the band of Death Eaters stood. As one the rest of Voldemort's servant parted leaving Wormtail exposed.

"You think this act of disobedience is amusing," he snarled. "Do you Wormtail?"

At once Peter's lighthearted mood disappeared.

"N-n-no master," he stuttered. "It's just the blood traitor isn't as an innocent as Potter believes."

Molly struggled against her bonds strangely enough staring straight at Sirius. This caught Voldemort's eye as well and Wormtail was instructed to continue.

"You see Ronnie over there isn't really Molly child."

Ron's mouth fell open and he gaped at the woman he'd been calling his mother like a fish out of water. Molly however had yet to break eye contact with Sirius though she was staring at him with even wider eyes. If Harry didn't know better, he would assume that this moment was her worst nightmare. Finally Sirius for his part turned his attention away from Molly to stare at Ron comprehension dawning on his face.

Voldemort stared at Peter for a long time Harry could tell he was using his power to read minds to determine exactly what Wormtail was trying to tell them. Ron who did not possess such a power couldn't tell what either Wormtail, Padfoot or Voldemort was thinking. He just continued to gape at Molly with a mixture of hurt and anger. Relishing the darker emotions, Voldemort allowed the explanation to continue.

"Through my expert surveillance on the blood traitor's I was able to uncover what not even the woman's husband knew," Wormtail boasted. "She stole the boy from her niece Roxanne. All because she disapproved of her husband. Then to keep her quiet she faked her dear niece's demise. Meanwhile, poor Roxanne has been locked away in St. Mungo's under an assumed name."

The murderous look was back in Sirius's eyes all of a sudden. Out of the blue it struck Harry why Sirius was now looking at the redheaded boy so strangely. Ron Weasley was in actuality a Black. He was Sirius's son! Voldemort turned his eyes from father and son back to Harry.

Green eyes locked with red. Harry tried to look away but the Dark Lord's hold was too strong. _He's__ got a real son now. Black really has no need for you anymore. He has the best friend he thought was gone forever and a child of his very own. You're useless! _With all the venom he could muster Harry spat at Voldemort to shut his mouth. No doubt due to the snake like features in the man's face Harry found himself speaking in parseltounge. Horrified he looked over at his parents who were flabbergasted by the power their little boy inherited that Halloween night in Godric's Hollow.

Even Remus seemed surprised which in terms surprised Harry. Didn't Remus read the papers? Perhaps he didn't believe a word of what Rita Skeeter had written about them. He looked over at his Godfather but Sirius and Ron were still too busy staring at one another to notice anything else going on in room. Peter may well have won the victory for his side with that one revelation alone but he wasn't done yet.

"Of course all this was after Molly and I managed to convince Nicolette Lupin she was married to a monster and that she needed to give up their baby girl and run before it was too late."

He stared significantly at Hermione and Remus. Harry groaned. He was exhausted from the Cruciatus curse and his earlier use of magic but with his friends each suffering an identity crisis it looked like he was on his own. Using the chaos to his advantage Harry bypassed all of the Death Eaters transfixed on the reactions of Remus and Sirius and headed straight toward Mrs. Weasley.

He was angry with her yes, but not angry enough to leave her with these crazed freaks. Besides if they were going to find Moony and Padfoot's wives they were going to need Mrs. Weasley help whether they liked it or not. Reaching Mrs. Weasley he touched the chains tentatively. It was going to be easy enough to free her. All he really had to do was get angry, angrier than her betrayal alone would provide.

Meanwhile the Death Eaters began realizing what he was trying to do. Encasing himself in a protective bubble he cast his mind around for a suitable topic to get his blood boiling.

Voldemort. No. Anger at the Dark Lord was something of an everyday occurrence. It wouldn't be powerful enough to break Mrs. Weasley's chains. Wormtail. No. At this point he was more of an annoyance. Finally Harry found just the rage he needed. _Moony and Padfoot were married and they never told me. They got mad that I kept secrets from them but they never bothered to tell me about an entire period of their lives. _

The hypocritical nature of it all snapped the chains in a matter of seconds. Harry felt weak. Almost too weak to stand. He wished Hermione or Ron could do the rest but casting a backwards glance told Harry he was on his own.

"I really don't want to be here anymore. So take us all to Albus Dumbledore."

At long last Harry said just the right words. Harry, Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Lily, James, Sirius and Remus were all lifted into the air. Spinning and heaviness were all that Harry felt. The more the room spun the heavier his eyes became. By the time they landed in one of the corridors of Hogwarts Harry was out cold. When he at last came around due to a bucket of ice water being poured over his head his eyes locked on Hermione's and she was angrier than even he had been when thinking about the information his guardians withheld. Harry gulped. Hermione was a frightening entity when she got upset. Why else would they go along with some of her crazier plans. I.e. "Let's make any legal potion by sneaking into Snape's private stores."

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING CASTING THAT SPELL," she fumed. "YOU COULD HAVE SPLINCHED!"

"Yeah I know," Harry acknowledged warily. "But do you really think you could've handled it given . . . Wormtail's announcements?"

Hermione fell silent pursing her lips. Behind her James stunned Mrs. Weasley. Harry wondered if he was afraid that Remus and Sirius might overreact given that she deprived them of a chance to have a family. They weren't very far from the headmaster's office. Hopefully they could make it without any drama. Lily on the other hand had a different idea.

"Hermione, Ron, why don't you take Harry to the hospital wing," she asked though her tone suggested it was more of a command. All three children looked ready to object. Harry's worst fear was losing Lily and James again. "We have some adult things to deal with and it isn't a good idea for you three to hang around." Her tone left no room for argument.


	8. Rocky Relationships

Authors note Hey look I posted and it didn't even take me half as long consider yourself lucky. Anyway I received several fantastic reviews from Moony. In fact I liked their review so much I decided to dedicate this chapter them. also I would like to thank Padfoot for their review as well. Yes that's right my two anonymous reviewers are called Moony and Padfoot. I think that's kind of funny anyway

* * *

Chapter Eight the

Rocky Relationships

by Empathicallychosen

"The course to true love never did run smooth." -- William Shakespeare

* * *

Following Lily's orders was the last thing that Harry, Ron and Hermione wanted to do. Fortunately Lily's point became moot because no sooner had the children rounded the corner then Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and the school nurse ran straight into them while discussing how best to free the children from Voldemort's influence.

The looks on their faces would have been amusing were it not for the fact that Harry, Ron and Hermione were currently standing in a corridor with Moony Padfoot, an unconscious Mrs. Weasley and two people who were presumed dead. Harry tried to think of away to explain it all but he still wasn't entirely sure what had happened himself. Remembering the pensive in Dumbledore's office, it seemed like the most logical option. If they couldn't explain the situation to their protectors, they would have to show them instead. But before Harry could conjure the pensive, it arrived via Fawks the Phoenix. Harry smiled gratefully down at the bird stroking its vibrant plumage.

If they expected the headmaster's questions to save them from having to leave Lily, James and the others they were dead wrong. No sooner did Dumbledore, McGonagall and Pomfrey emerge from the pensive than the children were being herded up to the hospital wing by the matron herself. Instead of mumbling a long tirade about how Harry, Ron and Hermione managed to get themselves into trouble before the start of term Madam Pomfrey ranted and raved about the antics of professor Snape and she had a few choice words for Mrs. Weasley as well.

It was a testament to how much the teachers actually enjoyed having the marauders around to hear the kind words they had for the men. As a matter of fact as soon as it was established that their identities weren't some horrible fraud perpetrated by Voldemort professor McGonagall actually embraced the Potters as if they were long lost children. Finding out the lengths at which Mrs. Weasley was willing to take her hatred of Padfoot seemed to be the beginning of the end of the pleasant relationship between Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley. The pure unadulterated fury in the headmaster's eyes was the catalyst for the nurse's insistence that Harry, Ron and Hermione be brought up to the hospital wing for observation.

As was customary madam Pomfrey force-fed each of the children at dreamless sleep potion. The interrogation of Mrs. Weasley must have taken longer than any of them could have imagined because it took three days for any of the adults apart from the nurse to make an appearance in the hospital wing. Harry might have been offended by the lack of attention from his Guardians were it not for the fact that despite being locked up in the hospital wing he was actually busier than he could ever remember being entire life. He spent half of his time answering questions for Hermione even if it was just to say he had no idea what the answer were and consoling Ron who was having a lot more trouble coping with his new identity. Especially after Madam Pomfrey removed the glamour magic hiding Ron's true appearance. Ron was still as redheaded and as freckles faced as ever but his eyes were now identical to Sirius's and he was by far more handsome than he was awkward and lanky. Nevertheless Ron was obviously struggling with the fact that the woman he'd always thought of as his mother had betrayed him.

Falling back on their old means of comforting one another Harry and Ron spent most of their time playing one another and wizards chest. Of course Ron once every single game per his usual standards but Harry didn't stop playing for three days. When he finally succumbed to his own depression he spent most of the fourth day having nightmares about what Remus and his Godfather would do when they finally found time to wrap their minds around the fact that Harry could speak to snakes. _I promised I wouldn't keep secrets from them anymore, _he lamented inwardly. _What doesn't matter,_ came a second more cynical voice. _It's not like they've been entirely honest with you either. _

* * *

Hermione looked over at the sleeping form of Harry. Her blood began to boil and for the first time since Wormtail's announcement it started to sink in that she was really part lycan. Harry had been nothing short of magnanimous about this identity debacle. Every time either one of his friends would start to feel down about the whole situation Harry was always there with comforting words.

Even after discovering an entire chapter missing from the lives of his would be uncle and godfather he could still only point out how awesome Remus and Sirius were bound to handle their newfound paternity. Hermione respected Lupin as a professor but she didn't know if she could truly appreciate his parental ability considering the way he left Harry to rot at the Dursleys without ever so much as writing a letter and now Harry was fast asleep in bed having another Basilisk nightmare all because he felt guilty about not confessing that he could communicate with snakes.

Hermione frowned slamming her book close for the ninth time that evening. Then with the great deal more compassion she tiptoed out of bed and over to where Harry slept. Reaching down she stretched out her hand to wake Harry only to jump back a foot in the air when the door burst open and in came none other than Harry's parents Sirius and much to Hermione's utter contempt Remus. Lupin for his part chose to ignore the glare she send his way for interrupting what she knew Harry would see as a moment of weakness. When he realized what Hermione was trying to do however he frowned. Blocking Hermione arm he escorted her back to bed frowning even more the angrier Hermione became.

"Harry needs his rest." Lupin insisted. "Besides Sirius and I need to talk with you and Ron."

"Then we will talk after Harry wakes up from his nightmare," Hermione insisted.

"How can you tell he's having a nightmare," Sirius asked bending down to examine Harry's sleeping form.

"He is speaking parseltounge," Hermione replied coldly. "That doesn't happen when he is dreaming about Quidditch!"

All of a sudden the quiet hissing became louder and louder until it filled the entire room. Long hiss, short hiss, long hiss. Ron and Hermione had both been around long enough to know that back particular hissing code meant only one word; Basilisk. Instinctively Padfoot jumped back giving Ron enough room to seize Harry's shoulders and shake him back to reality. Harry woke up drenched in sweat and bathed in tears. Instantly the hissing died away only to be replaced by wild uncontrollable screaming. Shoving Lupin carelessly aside Hermione hurdled back to Harry's bedside shaking his shoulders dramatically.

"It's okay you were only dreaming," she said firmly. "There hasn't been a Basilisk in here since second year, remember? You killed it in the chamber of secrets remember? It's over."

While Hermione's words were enough to cause Harry to relax she couldn't say the same for either Moony or Padfoot. They were both even more livid then they were about the mountain troll. While they ranted and raved Harry began trembling again. Then unable to restrain himself he threw up violently all over the hospital wing floor. All at once Remus and Sirius's anger melted away. Remus raced over to retrieve a washcloth. Meanwhile Sirius reached out to brush away Harry sweaty fringe. Harry pulled back. Padfoot raised his eyebrows. Placing one hand on Harry's shoulder to keep him from backing away he reached out a second time. This time Harry stayed perfectly still allowing the comforting motion to washed over him. Hermione felt sick watching how desperate Harry yearned for their attention. If this was going to happen every time that something new was revealed Harry would die long before the tales of the first two years were complete. Before she knew what was happening she was in fists of laughter.

"You know if you insist upon shouting every time there's a monster loose in Hogwarts we're going to go deaf," she giggled.

"You really see nothing wrong with a Basilisk running loose in the school," Lupin demanded

"You want Harry to trust you and yet every time you get a bit of bad news you go flying off the handle," Hermione shot back. "Honestly at least the mountain troll and the basilisk were unexpected. How are we supposed to explain Hagrid pets."

The news that there were apparently more monsters lurking around the corners of Harry's past was more than Moony and Padfoot were willing to handle. At least if she drew some of the attention onto herself Harry would be less pressured and his guilt would die away the only thing was in order to draw Harry away from the unwanted attention she turned herself into something of a brat hastily spouting out details of Fluffy the three headed dog, Norbert and Argog without even batting an eyelash.

Ron and Harry stared. Never before had she dared to speak to an adult in such a matter. Let alone Lupin. The more Remus and Sirius learned the more upset they became. The more upset they became the more Hermione had to push it. She needed to know if Remus could really be trusted to handle the delicate emotions that came with the first two years of their schooling. The more Hermione talked the more frazzled Remus became. He tried to get her attention by speaking calmly, and even hissed warningly at her but Hermione didn't stop talking. In fact the details were getting more and more gruesome.

"THAT'S ENOUGH," Remus growled. "I get it! You're angry at me for leaving Harry alone. Now what? Do you think I'm just going to back off? You honestly think I can turn the other way . . . let you put that Muggle family at risk. It's clear they can't protect you. So now I just have to do it. Get your things together. I have a Portkey sent to take us to new England. I was hoping to leave you here while I squared things a way with your mother but I can't very well leave you knowing that the moment I do you're likely to get your innards gobbled up by a cocktrice now can I?"

* * *

Roxanne Prewitt-black stared out the window of her room at St. Mungo's doing the same exact thing she done for the past fifteen years crying. It was all she knew how to do any more. She could remember being happy once upon a time but now happiness was just a distant memory. Now all that was left of Roxanne was to relive the last day of her life as it was over and over again. The day before her life turned to shambles was the happiest day of Roxanne's life. It was the day that she found out she was pregnant. Naturally the first thing she'd done was rushed over to her favorite Aunt Molly. In her mind Roxanne envisioned that the two of them would sit daydreaming about the kind of mother Roxanne would be. Unfortunately she was dead wrong. Roxanne knew Molly didn't approve of Sirius. Sirius was wild, fun-loving and carefree. He was everything Roxanne ever wanted and nothing her aunt wanted for her. Nevertheless Roxanne had been certain Molly would change her mind once the baby was born.

Instead Molly went insane. After receiving Roxanne joyful news the two women were in tears but not the kind Roxanne expected. Molly went berserk calling Sirius every name under the sun and claiming that their child would be better off raised by wolves then Sirius Orion Black. Roxanne had turned away determined never to see her aunt again when everything went black. The next thing she knew Roxanne had woken up in this room strapped to a bed with everyone calling her Beatrice Burnbottom. Roxanne spent a week screaming at the top of her lungs that her name was Roxanne Black and demanding to be let out. But the more she screamed the more insane anyone treated her.

_"It's no use getting upset dear." _Roxanne could still hear Molly's voice ringing in her ears. "_Roxanne Black died at the hands of Death Eaters last week."_

_"What did you do," Roxanne spat._

_"Just a little potion." Molly replied grinning wickedly. "Now you have two options _Beatrice_. I can have you released provided you come to your senses and leave that motorbike maniac or . . . "_

Roxanne exploded throwing Molly from the room. That was the last time she expected to see her aunt again. If she'd never seen Aunt Molly again, it would be to soon. Regrettably Aunt Molly had other ideas. On March first, 1980. Roxanne went into labor. It was thirteen hours of the most intense pain she had ever felt in her entire life and she never even got to hold her little boy. Those stupid healers past him off to Molly before she even got the chance to look at him. That Roxanne was sure would be last time anyone would ever hear from Molly. Then again Roxanne was mistaken. Molly couldn't resist marching into Roxanne's hospital room on November 1, 1981 to destroy what was left of Roxanne's happiness. To this day Roxane couldn't believe anyone would mistake her husband for a Death Eater. Anyone who knew Sirius Black at all knew how hard he fought to separate himself from the dark arts. The only good thing about Roxanne final visit with Molly was just that. It was the last. These days Roxane never got any visitors at all. Therefore when one of the healers knocked on the door announcing that someone was here to see her she wheeled around on the spot flaming red hair whipping her face

"For the last time my name is not Beatrice," she fumed. "... and another thing you can tell that horrible old hag to go straight to . . . --"

But much to her astonishment Molly was not standing in the room. Arthur Weasley stood there staring back. At first Roxanne was astonished. She didn't think Arthur knew his niece existed anymore. Then the realization struck her that if he was here now he might have known all along. She opened her mouth to tell him off when he sprang forward throwing his arms around Roxanne sobbing and apologizing over and over again. He didn't know and that was all Roxanne needed. Gently she patted his back until the tears subsided. Once Arthur was able to regain composure he stepped aside to reveal three other figures standing in the room. When her eyes rested on Lily and James Potter Roxane wondered for the first time in her entire life if she really was going insane. Then Lily hugged her and she knew it was true. Tears ran down her round faced. If there was anyone in the entire world Roxanne missed more than her beloved Sirius it was this woman.

Arthur excused himself and Roxanne watched as he left the room shouting for release papers. James smiled have Roxanne before bending down to whisper something into the ear of a big black dog. Roxanne squealed in delight. Could it really be? It had to be. She would recognize the Animagus form of her husband anywhere. How many mornings had she woken up to find her arms wrapped lovingly around the canine's neck? The massive grim-like dog stared back at her with the same longing in his eyes. Understanding the need for privacy Lily took James by the hand and announced that they would keep a lookout. Roxanne however didn't hear a word. As the door shut with a snap she raced over and through her neck into the animals fur soaking it in tears. A second later she found herself wrapped securely in the arms of her husband.

"Oh Roxy what have they done to you," he crooned in her ear.

"I could ask you the same question," she replied.

Roxanne didn't want to believe Sirius really had been in Azkaban. But the proof was right there in his haunted eyes. Not to mention the fact that the man she once knew took great pride in his hair. He was skinnier than she was comfortable with as well. But none of that mattered anymore. Nothing mattered as long as they were in each other arms. They were free. A couple once imprisoned would find solace in each other. Roxanne would be sure of that.

* * *

With Harry safe from awkward questions Hermione calmed down rather quickly and so to did Remus. The lycan tried everything he could think of to get Hermione to open back up to him. But nothing worked. Stopping outside the little American diner where Remus would at last see his long-lost love again Remus caught a glimpse of those beautiful honey brown eyes and her long brown hair. Her eyes locked with his and the woman's mouth fell open.

Remus didn't know what he would say to her when they spoke for the first time. He expected to shout at her. How could she have honestly believed her husband capable of harming her or their child? Glancing sideways at Hermione he supposed the last bit wasn't so far off after all. What he was not expecting was what actually happened, his beloved Nikki flocking to him like a moth to a flame, the embrace and the kiss. Never in his wildest dreams did Remus Lupin ever imagine love could still be so difficult at this stage of the game.

* * *


	9. Remus's Remorse

Authors note I was going to put this up last week unfortunately for all of you that was the week my brilliant little sister chose to run away from the trade school she was living at. She's back at home and safe thank goodness. Actually she's moving in with my older sister and her husband who finally found an apartment I'm not feeling well today so the best medicine you can give me is a ton of reviews. Also I just want to stay happy anniversary to my mom and dad.

* * *

Chapter Nine

Remus's Remorse

by Empathicallychosen

sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will always burn me

Just as an arrow once released from the bow can not return, in the same manner

painful and harsh words can not be taken back. "-Sam Veda

* * *

Nicolette took Remus and Hermione back to her apartment above the diner. Hermione said nothing although more than once or twice Remus thought he saw the girl smile out of the corner of his eye. Remus marveled. Hermione certainly was an interesting child. Hermione spent the night in the guest room while husband and wife retreated to the master bedroom where they could speak more privately. Although the only one doing much talking had all was Nicolette who kept apologizing profusely.

Not that it mattered, as hard as he tried Remus could never stay angry for very long. Especially not with Nicolette. The times of Lord Voldemort were confusing times for everyone. It must have been hard on Nicolette being married to a werewolf. Merlin knows her family didn't approve. From what Remus could gather through the tears Wormtail had been planning to blame the lycan for the betrayal of the Potters all along. The way Nicolette spoke he'd been trying to convince her of Remus's dark nature for as long as he was the spy.

He _probably expected Sirius to get himself blown up leaving me to pay for his cowardice_. In spite of himself Remus had to admit it was a fairly clever idea. Fifteen years ago Remus had in fact been deep undercover for the order of the Phoenix. So deep in fact Remus wouldn't have been surprised what kind of dark paraphernalia his wife stumbled across while doing the laundry.

"It's just that you were so withdrawn towards the end." She sobbed. "You were hardly ever home and I can't remember the last time you smiled. When I found out I was pregnant I didn't know how you would react. You were always so concerned with passing on your lycanthropy."

It was true. Being a father was always a secret dream of Remus's. Although never could he have imagined it coming true. It was incredibly lucky that Hermione was as healthy as she was. Watching Nicolette cry was one of the hardest things he ever had to witness. Just the same part of Remus's heart swelled. _She really does love you_, a voice cheered in the back of his mind. The fact that Remus felt like a teenager again stood as a testament to how much Nicolette meant to him as well. The pure unadulterated passion Remus was feeling drowned out all of Nicolette's words. Coming over to sit next to his wife on the bed he leaned in kissing her lips gently.

"Don't do that," objected Nicolette, pulling away.

Remus's heart stopped dead, if only for a moment.

"I don't deserve your forgiveness,"she lamented.

Nicolette's sobbing redoubled. Whatever resentment remained in Remus's mind melted away. Nicolette scrambled off the bed His poor wife trembled like a leaf on a blustery autumn day. _She's obviously been torturing herself for years. Just one of the things we have in common I suppose._

Deciding that there was far too much self-loathing between them Remus stood up. The truth of the matter was that when Nicolette disappeared it nearly killed Remus. Whether he liked it or not the wolf inside of him dictated certain traits about him. Wolves mated for life and that's all there was to it. Cornering her next to the mirror he wrapped his arms around her waste. She struggled. Careful not to harm her he tightened his hold on her arms.

"I was a fool to let you leave me the first time, " Remus cooed. "I won't make that mistake again."

Eventually Nicolette melted into her husband's embrace. Nicolette's worst fear was that this time her husband would be the one to leave. Once it was established that divorce was simply out of the question the reunion went much more smoothly. The next few days were like a dream. He and Nicolette were caught up in a whirlwind romance. Nicolette often laughed about dating her own husband. Remus however saw the reconnecting process as a family vacation.

Early one Sunday morning it all began to sink in when he awoke to find himself tangled

up with his wife. Careful not to jostle the bed he got up, retrieved a change of clothing and went to take a shower. On his way back to the bedroom he passed by his own reflection in the mirror and laughed. He was smiling from ear to ear. Remus wasn't sure exactly when it happened but lately being alone with Nicolette and Hermione made all of the horrible things that happened that summer disappear. He had a family.

Of course Lily, James and Sirius had always treated Remus like a brother but this was something of his very own. Something that he would do anything to protect. When he arrived back in the bedroom it was empty. Looking around the room he spotted a message written on the mirror in bright red lipstick. It read: LAST DAY OF WORK and was signed with a smiley face.

Now that all the fences between them were well on their way to being mended, Nicolette's entire home was covered in boxes in preparation for the move back to Lupin Cottage. Deciding to make himself useful Remus walked through each room making sure nothing of importance was left behind. New England was a nice place to visit but the sooner they were all back home the happier he would be.

leaving the bedroom Remus tripped over a book. Bending down he picked up the copy of William Shakespeare's;_ A Winter's Tale._ He almost laughed out loud. Remus and Nicolette had a lot in common. They were both half blood wizard's who enjoyed jazz music and whose favorite Muggle author was the brilliant playwright. Tucking the book away in a box by the bed his mind turned to Hermione.

If there was one thing he regretted about this trip it was the way he'd chosen to bring Hermione. He didn't feel bringing her was a mistake per se but admittedly he could have handled her hysteria differently. One thing was certain he never should've blown up at the Muggles.

While Hermione acted civil enough she hadn't been able to hide her fear that Remus was trying to take the place of Mr. Granger. Despite his outburst Remus had no intention of doing any such thing. Making up his mind he determined it was time for the two of them to have a long overdue chat. He found Hermione sitting at the table in front of a bowl filled with soggy, cold cereal.

"Good morning," he said roaming over to the icebox to for himself a glass of pumpkin juice.

No answer.

Remus gave a sigh. "Still cross with me, are you?"

Soft sniffles reached his ears this time. Alarmed Remus examined the girl more closely. Now that he could see her clearly it was obvious Hermione wasn't merely ignoring him. She just hadn't heard him. Rivers of tears flooded down her cheeks with no sign of stopping. The girl was so distressed it was all she could do to rock back and forth in her seat.

Looking around the only thing Remus thought was a ruffled barn owl. There wasn't a letter anywhere in its talons. Then he spotted an American-Wizarding newspaper entitled The Morning Stargazer on the floor completely forgotten . There on the front page was the cause of the commotion. A picture of a dark Mark bellow a caption which read. **Dark Mark Rises Again in England; Two Muggle Dentist Found Dead. **Feeling his paternal instinct take over for the first time Remus pulled Hermione close. _So much for not taking the Muggles away, _Remus thought. Hermione's entire body trembled. She shove the lycan away fiercely.

"I want my dad," she spat. "You're not my dad and you never will be!"

Surprisingly Hermione's words held no sting. He knew how she felt having lost both his parents in the first war with Voldemort. Remus pulled Hermione back into his embrace wrapping his arms around her. This time she didn't pull away. She started to cry again groping at his robes for dear life. Despite the air of tragedy Remus's heart soared. Never in his whole life had he felt more parental.

Guiding the teenager over to the sofa he sat down stroking her bushy hair tenderly. He didn't know how long they stayed like that nor did he care. As if from far away he listened to himself humming a little lullaby his mother used to sing to him as a little boy. By the time Nicolette returned both father and daughter had nodded off. Remus jerked awake as a soft click reached his ears followed by a brief flash of light. It took him a while to find the source of the commotion. Nicolette stood above him holding a camera. Hermione had curled herself against Remus, resting her head in his lap. _Yes_, he thought to himself. _This would be a perfect moment for a photo. if only the circumstances were different. _

"Someone looks cozy," she smiled.

"If only it started out that way," he sighed, brushing a stray tear from off Hermione's cheek.

Nicolette raised an eyebrow. Remus responded by directing her to the newspaper. Nicolette picked it up and read it through wordlessly. She didn't seem pleased to see the dark mark plastered on the morning news. Then again she was hardly flabbergasted either. Rumors of Voldemort's rebirth were worldwide after all. When Nicolette set the paper down she stared at him bewildered.

"I suppose you have some connection to these Muggles," she asked.

"I do," Remus began, somewhat surprised Nicolette didn't bother to see where Molly had placed their child. Then again he supposed it wasn't so surprising after all. He himself wanted to know everything and yet nothing at all about Hermione's adopted father. At Nicolette's continued confusion he added, "as do you. They raised our daughter."

Nicolette let out a small squeak of horror. Hermione stirred slightly. Her voice seemed painfully small as she muttered in her sleep. "Alone. All alone." Her voice trailed off and tears sprang back in her eyes even while she slept. All of the sudden there was a terrible wind rattling the entire apartment. It rattled the window so much in eventually shattered. The cold air seemed to target their very souls.

Then it happened. There was a cyclone in the middle of the room picking up speed and knocking all the boxes down as easily as if they were a child's building blocks. From out of the blue bodies appeared in a tangled mess. Remus was stunned. It only began to dawn on him what the headmaster meant when he had said that Harry, Ron and Hermione where incredibly powerful. Nicolette gasped loudly. Hermione shot up just in time to see Ron and Harry untangled themselves from one another. Ron cursed under his breath rubbing the back of his head where Harry's had smashed into him.

"Couldn't you have called for us more gently," Ron grumbled.

For a fleeting moment Remus felt his irritation rising. He'd always known Ron wasn't the most compassionate child in the world but still he expected more sympathy than that. He was about to give the boy a good telling off when Hermione jumped off the sofa and threw herself around him as though he offered the most comforting words in the world. Remus blinked in surprise. There was, apparently, a lot he simply did not understand about the friendship of the children. Ron patted Hermione's back awkwardly.

His eyes met Remus's and he flinched as though the werewolf had berated him. Remus broke the eye contact. The fact that Ron muttered soothingly in Hermione's ears told the former professor that there was more compassion in Ron then he ever realized. The stiffness in his back practically begged Remus for a cup of tea.

Once the tea was prepared and served Hermione seemed to settle down again. She turned her attention from Ron to Harry. Their eyes met and they were lost in some unspoken conversation. Following Hermione's gaze Remus was astounded. Harry had healed remarkably well from James's unfortunate mind control abuse. Nevertheless, he seemed weaker than he had when Remus and Hermione first left Britain. His face was paler than the moon except for a rosy tinge rising in his cheeks.

The most notable change in Harry however was his eyes. There was no sparkle in the emerald orbs anymore. In fact they were surprisingly reminiscent of Sirius's Azkaban eyes. Dead, so very dead in haunted. Harry's head turned immediately. Remus winced at the icy fire that met his amber eyes._ What have those eyes seen that was so terrible._ Harry answered his unspoken question turning back to Hermione.

"They didn't suffer," he announced.

Remus's hand trembled violently and he almost dropped Nicolette's finest china teacups. Had Harry witnessed the death of Hermione's parents. Rage began building in Remus's chest as he remembered everything Dumbledore told him about the connection between Harry and Voldemort. He glowered at the seemingly innocent scar on Harry's forehead. It looked harmless enough. The deadened look in Harry's eyes however told him differently. Remus bit down on this tongue to keep from cursing.

Hadn't Harry suffered enough? He was torn between comforting his daughter who once again elapsed into racking sobs and sympathizing for his pseudo-nephew. All empathy faded however as Harry explained in vivid detail exactly how the Muggles passed away.

"... They were dead before their office burst into flame," was stated with a painful amount of offhandedness. "I've never seen your mum so --...."

Anger bubbled up inside Remus so that he could not hear the stricken tone in Harry's voice as he spoke. The only sound he could hear was Hermione's voice as her wailing reached an uncomfortable pitch to the Lycan's painfully sensitive ears. He had no way of knowing how terribly Mrs. Granger's death affected the boy. No way of knowing the affection he held for the woman who always brought to extract cups for Hermione's invisible friends during teatime. True, Hermione all but begged him for details. But the blunt way he delivered the news was too much. _he's to young to be so hardened. _This coupled with Hermione's blubbering, never mind the ever-increasing full moon made the wolf rear its ugly head.

"ENOUGH," Remus roared in a voice that would've made Vernon Dursley purple with envy. "She's not ready for this. (Harry backed away at the menacing tone.) I would have thought you of all people would understand how she feels. I always thought you had more consideration than this."

* * *

Never in his entire life had Harry ever been reprimanded by Remus in this manner. Not even after Snape had confiscated the marauders map and Remus had accused him of disregarding his parents sacrifice for his life. Harry could feel tears prickling at his eye. Intellectually Harry knew that the full moon was days away. He knew that Remus had no way of knowing about the wizard's oath he had taken to never withhold information from his best friends.

He could hear the heartless tone in his own voice and admittedly he sounded like a monster rattling of detail he would have rather kept to himself had the spell not been in the way. Yes, he knew all these things and yet he still felt as though Remus had plunged a knife in his heart and twisted it with all the strength he could muster. Cold he felt cold. The icy numbness he'd always equated with Dementors.

Harry stumbled backwards willing himself not to cry. _He doesn't understand_, whispered a comforting voice in the back of his mind that sounded oddly of Dumbledore. _He wouldn't say that if he understood. _Regrettably the more the voice repeated it the more his eyes watered_. Don't be so pathetic, _snapped a second voice that sounded enough like uncle Vernon to send a shiver down the spine. _Hasn't the man seen enough of your weakness. _

That was it. Desperation filled every corner of his mind. _Have to get out... Have to get away... have to ...have to..._ His heart pounded wildly in his chest. Feeling like an animal trapped in a cage he cast his eyes around and spotted the door. There was a moments indecision .he had to be there for Hermione didn't he? But Remus's eyes were on him again quickly changing from indignant to pitying. The indignation he could handle. No doubt due to his experience at number four he felt calmest when someone was shouting at him. But pity that was too much.

Hoping to convey his sorrow Harry mouthed the words_ 'I'm sorry,'_ to Hermione before groping behind him for the doorknob. Whether he was more apologetic for leaving her in her time of need or because the spell had caused Hermione so much pain Harry didn't know. With any luck the apology would cover both. The tears fogged Harry's glasses blinding him.

He stumbled over a rug his fingers finally wrenching the door open. He could hear Remus calling out to him but Harry took one last look at the regret in the man's eyes before bolting as fast as he could out of the apartment and into the diner. His last thought for Hermione was how he had strain the relationship Remus was trying so very hard to build as she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"YOU DIDN'T NEED TO SHOUT AT HIM LIKE THAT! COULDN'T YOU SEE HE WAS UNDER A SPELL?"


	10. An Uncle's Affection

Chapter Ten

An Uncle's Affection

by Empathicallychosen

"The power of love to change bodies is legendary, built into folklore, common sense, and everyday experience. Love moves the flesh, it pushes matter around... Throughout history, "tender loving care" has uniformly been recognized as a valuable element in healing."- Larry Dossey

* * *

Harry pushed past the diner patrons and out onto the pavement. He didn't even stop to apologize to a man he had knocked over in his haste to escape. He wanted to die. It was that simple. The despair echoing throughout his soul was unbearable and indescribable. At least if he were dead, he would not have to feel any more. His heart was broken, and his soul was ravaged. It seemed that he would never recover from the overwhelming hollow sensation that had taken over. What was worse, he could feel the hot sting of tears behind his eyes.

_No__, _Harry refused to allow himself to cry. _Get__a__hold__of__yourself__, _his mind snapped. Ever since Sirius and Remus found out about the abuse Harry was terribly emotional. Far more emotional than any self-respecting fifteen-year-old boy ought to be. Especially one that belonged in the noble house elf Gryffindor. If his housemates could see him now. Harry shuddered. The Weasley twins would never let him live it down.

He ran as fast and as far as he could. Thankfully for Harry years of trying not to get beat up by Dudley and his gang were finally good for something. Harry's emotions and his powers however were another matter entirely. Harry frowned as the tingle of magic left him. Angry storm clouds filled the sky. Large raindrops the size of marbles began pouring from the heavens.

Harry knew this wasn't good. Even after his emotions were in check the rain did not stop. This was supremely unfortunate because ever since he'd woken up from his dream about the Grangers he had a fever. One that was steadily rising with each passing moment. Images of his mother's worried face swim back into his recollection. _What __will __she __do __if __I __catch __pneumonia__. _Harry didn't want to think about it.

His panic was steadily waning. He suddenly realized how stupid he had been to leave the apartment. He was in a strange country wondering around alone, exposed in the rain. A fork of lightning past landing so close to Harry that the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. This and the fever made him slow down finally stopping inside a little park less than a mile from the apartment. The wind was ferocious, splashing water at him from all sides, He shivered._Nice__going__Harry_, he thought bitterly wishing he had anything besides his father's thin pajamas to protect him from the cold. Unable to move himself any further he sought refuge under an old oak tree. Hugging his knees close to his chest Remus's words resonated in his mind for about the millionth time.

Reflecting on them he realized that the reprimand had not been said out of anger at Harry as much as concern for Hermione. Regardless of his own betrayal Harry smiled wistfully. His eyelids began to feel unbearably heavy. _I'll __just __lay __down __for __a __moment_, he thought to himself as he propped his body against the tree trunk._ . . . then I'll go back._ With that Harry shut his eyes and unintentionally fell into a fitful sleep, oblivious to the lightning and thunder crashing all around him

* * *

Remus ran as fast as he could out of the apartment. Guilt flooded his very being. Hermione's words repeated in his mind. _"... __COULDN'T__YOU__SEE__HE__WAS__UNDER__A__SPELL__?"_ Remus cursed silently. How many spells could one child be under at once ? Just when Remus thought they were all making steps in the right direction, the monster in him would rear its ugly head. _Maybe __Molly __is __right__. __Werewolves __don't __make __model __parents__._

He shook his head. He refused to think about that now. Harry was ignoring his beckoning and he had to catch up to his original cub. He would have accomplished his goal were it not for Harry's clever use of shoving people in Remus way as he hurtled out into the unfamiliar street. Remus only paused for a moment when he ran headlong into a man wearing a business suit and carrying a briefcase. By the time he ran outside Harry was halfway up the street.

Ominous clouds came from out of nowhere. While Remus fought to get to the boy whose mental anguish was the cause of the unexpected downpour. A mob of people pushed him back fighting equally hard to get out of the stormy weather. The problem was that there were dozens of them and only one of him. When Remus could at last see where he was going again his objective was gone. Remus paused before reaching in his back pocket and pulling out his wand._The __Muggles__won't__see__anything__in__this__mess__, _he reasoned.

Though the truth of the matter was that the whole world could have been watching for all he cared. Harry's distraught expression kept jumping to the forefront of his vision mingling with Hermione's words. Remus didn't need to think hard to a member the last time he'd felt so terrible, it was in Harry's third year after Remus confiscated the map. For being the levelheaded one Remus certainly admonished the boy a lot. If he ever caught up to his charge Remus would never rebuke him again. Fifteen minutes later found Harry fast asleep in a park resting under a tree.

_WHAT __ARE __YOU __DOING__, _he'd wanted to scream out but the thunder made doing so rather pointless. _DON'T __YOU __KNOW __IT'S __DANGEROUS __TO __HIDE __UNDER __TREES __WHERE __THERE __IS __LIGHTING__?_! Horror overwhelmed every inch of Remus's soul. Casting a shielding charm over his own body, he ran out to retrieve the child. At the sight of the boy Remus's regret expanded more than he would have previously expected possible.

Harry was as white as rice paper except for the dark circle under his eyes and the purple tinge to his lips. Harry's breaths were raspy as well. the effort of breathing seemed incredibly painful even in Harry's sleep. Trying to wake him Remus tapped Harry's cheeks hard and noticed how warm they were. He placed a hand on the boy's pale forehead. _Sweet__Merlin__you're__burning__up__! __My__poor__little__wolf__pup__ . . . __Keep__it__together__Moony__! __Get__the__cub__out__of__here__! _

With that Remus wasted no time scooping Harry in his arms trying to ignore the fact that the fever-chill boy's silk pajamas were soaked through and through. The jog back to the apartment didn't take long at all but as the storm progressed Harry's violent shivering had only worsened, though his shaking body became warmer and warmer without relent. Inside Harry stilled a little but not by much. Unable to open the door he kicked as hard as he could, half hoping to break down the obstacle. All he achieved unfortunately was a throbbing left foot and he was forced to wait for Nicolette to answer. The seconds seemed like hours. He could hear anxious voices growing silent. Remus was painfully aware of each footstep as he grew ever more impatient. The handle turned and Nicolette appeared. She gasped, Remus hurried past into the room.

Ignoring Hermione's persistent questions as she hopped nervously beside him Remus headed straight for the master bedroom. He imagined he would have to deal with her frustration soon enough. For now his main concern was getting Harry dry. Placing the boy on the bed he went over to his packed suitcase and retrieved a nightshirt and turned back to Harry. With a heavy sigh Remus reached over and started unbuttoning Harry's top. Harry squirmed eyes wide.

"Now Cub, stop your fussing," Remus chided, abandoning his vow never to chasten the boy again although Remus tone was much gentler now. "We need to get you dry. Otherwise you'll just continue to suffer."

"I'm fine," Harry protested.

Remus frowned. He was really,_really_getting to hate that phrase. It was never true. From the way Harry spoke the response was automatic, nevertheless, the knowledge of this did nothing to curb the wolf's frustration. How could Harry tell such blatant lies right to his face? In third-year Harry was so predictable in his lies that Remus and Sirius joked to this day that the boy would never get away with anything._But__you__have__gotten__away__with__quite__a__bit__, __haven't__you__?_ Exasperated Remus watched Harry shiver from the cold._Not__anymore__, __you__don't__! _Feeling the long-familiar desperation to parent the boy which had only continued to increase with each passing day since the moment the werewolf had stepped unto Privet Drive taking over once agai_n_Remus sighed inwardly. _Why__must__you__make__everything__so__difficult__? _The horrible way Harry's entire body trembled made it painfully clear that Harry was in no condition to clothe himself. Wishing that there were some other way Remus pulled out his wand.

"Don't lie to me," Remus scolded. "Now, it is time to get you out of those wet things. So either you let me dress you or I will have to stun you and neither of us wants that, do we?"

Remembering the way Harry had defied Sirius, Remus mentally prepared himself to follow through with the threat. Much to his relief however Harry seemed to remember his last ultimatum all too well. Harry's resolve to stay uncomfortable melted away. Remus smiled eternally grateful for Harry's submissiveness. It made everything much easier.

Remus made quick work disposing of the sodden apparel. There was no need to prolong Harry's embarrassment. Inwardly Remus thought Harry's skittishness was just silly. After all, he had dressed Harry at least once a week during his infancy. Of course he was too young to remember such things but surely he had to realize that Remus had only been too happy to tend to the boy. Otherwise he wouldn't have been so fond of the boy as to consider him part of the pack.

While he did so memory's of looking after the baby boy reentered his mind. Remus had never actually forgotten but in that momen he recognized how innocent Harry was despite the trials he had seen. Remus's total adoration made him stagger.

"There," he said smoothing the garment to his satisfaction. "You see, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Harry shook his head meekly. He was still shaking however and his teeth chattered. Remus frowned. Harry was still making light of his condition. But what else could he do to ensure Harry's ease. His eyes were instantly drawn to Harry's hair wet and caked with mud.

If Prongs could see how well behaved Harry's hair was he would have been disgusted. Muttering a quick drying charm Harry's mop returned to the untidy locks the werewolf knew so well. Just for good measure Remus ruffled it with his hand. Harry was freezing. Receiving inspiration from his memories Remus went into the boxes and grabbed a patchwork quilt. Rather than tuck Harry beneath the covers he swaddled, Harry exactly the way Lily showed him all those years ago. Remus could see Harry was less than pleased but it didn't matter.

"You'll stay warmer this way," he answered be unspoken question, raising his hand Remus placed it carefully over Harry's scar.

He almost swore in shock. Harry's forehead was hot, far, far too hot. But he had known it would be. What he did not know was that the heat directly emitted from the lightning bolt scar. Without a word Remus left the room almost running into Hermione who had been watching the interaction carefully.

He couldn't allow himself to wonder what might be running through her mind. Harry still needed his attention. She could tell him how awful he was later. Marching resolutely into the bathroom Remus rifled through the medicine cabnit until he found a vile of charcoal gray potion. He paused for a moment looking down at the bottle in his hand. Would pepper up potion even work against a curse scar? His fist tightened around the mixture, it would have to. Stopping off in the kitchenette he seized a brass goblet from one of the cupboards. When he returned, Harry was already half asleep.

In spite of the severity of the situation the werewolf felt a smile tug at his lips. Harry looked so cherubic whenever he slept. Remus knew he was overreacting. The flashes of Harry as a baby were only figments of his imagination exacerbated by his conscience and encouraged by the wolf in him but he didn't mind. _If __Harry __knew __you __thought __of __him __this __way_ . . . , a voice in the back of his mind began.

No, Harry wouldn't be content. Remus could not imagine any fifteen-year-old would be. After all it was in their natures to act as if they were already adults. _He __will __simply __have __to __get __used __to _it. Remus told the voice. Besides he made his bed when he decided to surrender his powers. He scowled instantly. Ever since Dumbledore's confession Remus and Sirius had been researching the spell used and were aghast to find out that it mentally stunted those under its influence. _I'll __never __understand __what __you __were __thinking__ . . . _

Harry began to cough startling Remus from his revelry. He blanched as the biting noise rung in his sensitive ears. Poor Harry quivered between each deep cough and groaned hoarsely when the dreadful fit finally stopped. Sympathy worked its way back into Remus's heart. Although he found himself frowning yet again when he grew closer and saw that Harry had somehow wriggled his way out of Remus's painstaking cocoon.

"Why must you continually fight us," Remus asked simply. "Every little thing we do to try and make your life a little easier."

"I'm not 15-_months-_old anymore," came the stubborn, embarrassed replied.

It was then that Remus realized that was exactly how old Harry was, in some respects anyway. Remus set down the bottle and goblet and refashioned the bundle extra snugly to ensure Harry would not extract himself again. Just to make sure he also magically sealed it. Harry blinked up at Remus delirious with fever a pout spreading across his face. Rather than accomplishing its goal of having the Lycan back down, all the action did was solidify Remus's position that Harry ought to be coddled.

"It's for your own good," Remus insisted turning his attention to the pepper up potion.

. Once he was finished Remus helped, the teenager to sit up, (as best he could while remaining swaddled,) letting Harry rest against him in his arms as he slipped the goblet between his nephew's chapped lips. Harry felt unnaturally warm even through his borrowed pajamas; Remus carefully lifted the cup to Harry's lips and gently nudged a little of the liquid against his mouth enough to wet them with the potion. Harry pulled back from the goblet. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. For a moment he looked as if Remus were trying to poison him or something. Resting his hand back over the scar, it struck him that perhaps Harry did think that was precisely what he was doing. He didn't need a thermometer to tell him Harry's fever was high enough to give him hallucinations.

"Time to take your medicine Harry," Remus said in as soothing a voice as he could manage. "You want to get well, don't you?"

There was a few seconds of awkward struggling, Remus finally put a stop to it by taking Harry's jaw in his hand, forcing his mouth open and pouring the concoction down his charge's troat. Harry stopped thrashing in Remus hold. Remus gripped the ill boy firmly for a moment nonetheless He only allowed himself to get distracted when Nicolette entered carrying a washcloth in one hand and balancing a bowl of water in the other. Her years as a waitress producing a new skill.

When she set the bowl of water down, she placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He smiled gratefully before dipping the washcloth in the water and ringing it out. The trickle of the water was magically comforting to hear. Devotedly Remus dabbed at Harry's scar allowing the water droplets to run from his forehead down his fever-flushed cheeks. Harry's eyes fluttered open and he turned as much of his body as he could toward them.

"Re-mus," he rasped out his voice mimicking Sirius's after years in Azkaban.

Remus resisted the urge to shutter, "Good of you to recognize me."

Harry blinked up looking dazed. But before he could respond another bout of coughs overtook him. Remus could no longer hold back his urge to flinch. If it were this painful merely listening to the cough, the agony Harry was going through must have been staggering. Picking up the bowl he carefully poured some of the water into the goblet.

Waving his wand over it to make the water that much colder Remus waited a moment for the illness-stricken boy to stop coughing before he very carefully helped Harry sit up. He whispered his name three times tilting the cup to his lips, gently nudging it between his the slight gap. At first Harry barely responded at all to the liquid against his chops. But as soon as a small amount slipped into his mouth, he greedily accepted the rest, draining the goblet in only a few gulps.

"Th-thank you," chattered Harry.

Remus's eyes widened. That was most definitely the worst thing Harry could say at that particular moment. He was showing his former professor gratitude when Remus was more or less the reason he was in such a feeble condition. _You __are __the __worst __uncle EVER__, _spat his conscience.

Just then Harry's sleeve was jostled and Remus could see an old bruise left behind after one of Harry's beatings,. Remus could immediately tell it was one caused by Vernon due to two factors. First of which being that James's abuse though likely the most traumatic had been more restrained because the father had been doing his best to fight Voldemort's command. But the more telling determination was the way it was healing faster then James fingerprints around Harry's neck. _Okay __maybe __you're __not __the _worst. It let up. _But __he __still __deserves __so __much __better__ . . . _Before Remus could stop himself a tear trickled down his face. Harry seemed flabbergasted by the werewolf's reaction.

"Oh no, no, no," Remus choked out shaking his head. "My sweet cub! I am so, so sorry! You are such a good, very good boy! You poor, sweet, confused,_little_cub . . . I never should have shouted at you. Believe me if it weren't for that accursed wolf – . . . "

In spite of himself Remus couldn't resist making absolutely certain that Harry knew precisely how young he was. He couldn't suppress a smile at the uncomfortable scowl on his precious nephew's face. Then quite suddenly once the boy had a chance to recover Harry had elapsed into laughter which ended in another coughing fit. At last when Harry could speak again he smiled.

"Forget it," Harry croaked. "I'm actually glad you care about Hermione so much."

At first Remus thought Harry was telling his uncle another lie to get out of the uncomfortable situation. Then Remus saw the sincerity in Harry's magnificent green eyes. It dumbfounded Remus. For an abused and scarred child Harry was extraordinarily benevolent. Too benevolent, Remus decided. Harry was only too willing to offer his forgiveness. Be that as it may Remus wouldn't he couldn't allow himself to take it. In a bizarre way absolution was worse then if Harry had sworn to hold the incident against Remus for the rest of his life. _This__is__the__child__you__accused__of__being__heartless__. __You__fool__!_

So instead of focusing on Harry he focused on the boy's words realizing truly for the first time just how much he cared for Hermione. It was strange how deeply he had come to cherish her and he wondered when and how that came to be. He had always liked her as a student and one of Harry's best mates but somewhere between Voldemort's lair and New England he had fallen in love with the teenager in a way that he wondered if her adoptive father could have done. Notwithstanding her surly disposition toward him.

"Yes I do," he admitted.

Then the full meaning of Harry's words struck him. _Care __about __Hermione__._ They echoed over and over in his mind until he properly digested them. _you __don't_ really _care __about __me_ Remus was immediately between disbelief feeling offended. He knew he had not always been there for Harry the way he should have. But since picking Harry up from his relatives the Lycans had been jumping through hoops to see two Harry's needs. Try as he might Renus just couldn't understand Harry's confusion.

Why would Remus have gone through all of this grief is not out of consider for the boy for his ailing cub? Why would he risk electrocution to bring Harry back here? For that matter, why go through everything the had in Harry's third year is he wasn't truly invested in Harry's best interest? suddenly Ramis understood . _You think it's all in obligation to your parents _. the Lycans was just about to set boy straight when Nicolette stopped him. Harry was fast asleep.

"You rest now," Remus sighed. "You and I will talk about this duty nonsense later."

He bent down and kissed Harry's forehead placated in the fact that his temperature was dropping. Turning out the light he let Nicolette lead him out of the room. Drained he dove straight for the sofa throwing his head back and rubbing his eyes. A slight pressure pressed against the Lycan's hand. Curiously Remus looked up and found himself staring at Hermione_. __Here__we__go_, he thought dismally. But Hermione never said a single word. She squeezed his hand again and this time she added a small smile. Remus gaped. The after effects of Remus's outburst may have caused Harry illness but it did have a positive consequent as well. Watching Remus looking after Harry, Hermione seemed to finally understand how much Harry met to him. _At__least__someone__knows__it__..__._

From the other room Harry muttered something in his sleep and Remus could just make out some of the words, "Mum . . . Dad . . . "Remus froze as a thought came to him.

"Do your parents know you're here," Remus asked addressing Ron for the first time.

"Doubt it," Ron muttered. "Sirius and Roxanne went to Barbadosy and Lily and James weren't around when we got summoned."

Remus cursed despite the fact that he rarely did such a thing and he had swore more today then he had in his entire life._Prongs __must __be __out __of __his __mind __with__ worry! _


End file.
